Who would've wanted to kiss you?
by bluewitch143
Summary: "W-Who would've wanted to kiss such a klutz and sexless tomboy!" he yelled but instantly regretted it. He breathed heavily as those words escaped from his lips. He was scared to look at her direction. He knew what he would be seeing there.
1. Chapter 1 Wounded

Hi guys! This is my second fan fic but first here Ranma ½. I am very glad to finally write something here and be able to share (I finally realized to stop being a sucker, I mean, just reading others' works). Please bear with me, as I am still learning using the site's database, whatever you called that. I might end of deleting the whole story or replacing it or something. Anyway, enjoy reading!

Italized sentences are said in thoughts. Sorry, I don't how they call it.

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ranma ½.

Chapter 1

It was late afternoon when Ranma was wounded because of another fight he had with Mousse. Of course, it wasn't an intentional fight and he did not plan to have a fight with the duck-boy. It just so happened that he and Akane encountered Shampoo on their way home from school. As usual, they came across with the purple-haired beauty and sticked herself again to him making the short-haired martial artist to be mad. Ranma closed his eyes, waiting for a hard kick or punch from Akane but nothing came. Before he opened his eyes, he thought why this always happened to him. The only difference this time was, instead of receiving a trip-to-Nerima air kick from Akane, she kicked Shampoo into thin air. He felt relieved that he was saved by Akane from Shampoo's bear hug. Of course, he didn't want to hurt a girl so he was thankful of Akane for doing it for him. And as Shampoo vanished, here came Mousse looking for his beloved. When Shampoo was nowhere to find, he accused Ranma for hiding Shampoo from him, then threw his hidden weapon then the fight started.

Ranma luckily got rid of the very persistent Mousse and was able to go home, with scratches and few cuts. Akane was already home by that time as she was no longer interested of watching the two teens fight which became more of a daily habit for them.

Akane was waiting at the porch when he arrived.

"At last, you're home. Even though you have a lot of scratches and cuts, you got home in one piece," she sarcastically commented as she stared Ranma from head to toe.

"Yeah right! I almost got my head cut off by that duck-boy bastard!" he replied. "He kept on insisting that I hid Shampoo somewhere!"

"You should've told him that I kicked her ass across Nerima," she retorted.

"Then what? He'll go after you? Like I'll let that happen!"

"Ranma…," Akane muttered as she stared the crouching boy in front of her with her hopeful chocolate eyes.

The stare made him blush. "H-He accused me of something that I did not do, of c-course, I am the one he should fight! And I know that a clumsy thick-thigh tomboy can't beat him"

The smile from her lips faded after what Ranma said. He bit his lower lip as he saw her eyes became gloomy. He didn't want to see that sad eyes. He regretted what he said and wanted to take it back but his ego kicked in first.

"Hmp! I'm about to ask you if you are okay but because of what you said, never mind!" she yelled and the then hopeful orbs were replaced by fire.

"I-I am fine. Just few cuts though. These won't kill me, you know that," he said, ignoring the girl's outburst. "I am fine, don't worry. Thank you."

The gesture made her eyes soft again while looking at his cuts. "Okay, that's good," she just said.

He was about to say something stupid again when he saw the first aid kit near the table. "Yeah, good," he said. A small smile appeared in his lips as he saw the kit. He knew that she prepared that for him knowing that he would be hurt as he arrived home. He knew for himself that she'll take care of him, would clean and bandaged those wounds.

The smile did not escape from Akane's sight. She was aware that he was just being himself: egoistic baka. But she also knew that he was softened by her thoughtfulness. Both of the teens were blushing furiously, while heads low, and both were silent. No one wanted to say anything that could've ruined their silent moment which was very unusual. Ranma instantly shivered as the night wind blew. This hinted Akane to remember what she planned to do, mend his injuries.

"Oh yeah, Ranma, it just so happen that the first aid kit is here, uhmmm, if you like, let me patch those cuts before you take your dinner," Akane offered, her head was already up but her eyes was lowered and still looking at his feet.

"Sure, thanks!" he said. He walked past her then slumped himself in front of the table. He rested his head in his palm. She grabbed the first aid kit and started to prepare the cotton, disinfectants and band-aids. She sat in front of him to check the cuts properly.

"R-Remove your shirt, baka! It seems that you have a big cut in your arms and back," she commanded. The pig-tailed boy blushed before removing his torn Chinese red shirt slowly. He made sure that Akane wouldn't see his crimson cheek. Luckily, Akane couldn't see his face because she also hid her face from him, as she felt that her whole face was as red as tomato. He turned his back to her to show the cut and for her to be able to clean it.

He winced as she first dumped the disinfectant in his wound. "Ouch! Can't you do it as gentle as a lady?" he complained.

"The disinfectant will really sting, baka! You are just being a cry baby!" she retorted while trying to calm and stop herself not to put a lot of pressure in the cotton. "You should be immune to this kind of stuff. You always get into a fight more than twice a week so you should be used to it!" she explained. "And stop complaining!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Just do it fast before I passed out of pain… and I am starving."

The treatment went well as Ranma stopped complaining. Akane cherished this moment of silent because it's not usual for the two of them. On the other hand, Ranma could feel how gentle Akane's hand as she treat his wounds.

To be continued….

Yay! I finished the first chapter! I'm still working on the next chapters. I wanted to finish it but I have to go home and take my two-day off. I'm doing these stuff in my workplace, eheheheh, sorry, but I got bored easily. It's not a work-related stuff but I prefer to do this than sleep. I'll be updating this soon! Thanks for reading and for the reviews!


	2. Chapter 2 Getting Closer

Yay! Here's my update! Thank you soooo much for the reviews! Enjoy reading…

Italized sentences are said in thoughts. Sorry, I don't how they call it.

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ranma ½.

Chapter 2

Akane finished patching Ranma's back wound. She was almost done cleaning his arm wounds when he recalled something from the late afternoon encounter with the Chinese.

"Uhm, Akane?" the girl looked up at his face. "I was just wondering. You usually beat me up when Shampoo groped me. This afternoon was different. You were still as mad as you usually are but…" he paused as he felt a little force from her finger while putting a band-aid, "…but you kicked Shampoo instead. You kicked her hard. Unluckily for me, Mousse accused me for hiding or hitting Shampoo, and then we got on that mess, tsk!"

Akane stiffed and turned into a very red-face girl. Yeah, she thought about her actions towards the Chinese bimbo. She admitted to herself that she indeed got mad again after Shampoo hugged Ranma, but spaced out why her foot was placed to the cat-girl instead of the pig-tailed Ranma. "J-Just for a change. You know, I hit you but you don't learn, so… maybe if I might as well hit her she'll learn, stuff like that," she lied, not looking at his eyes.

"Uhm, okay, if you said so."

Akane was a little surprised from his reply. She was expecting another outburst and insult from him but it didn't come. Instead, he replied like an idiot and she felt like he was still digesting the reason.

"Baka…," a whisper from her that didn't escape Ranma's ears.

"What the hell do you mean by that, you sexless tomboy?"

Akane sniffed then ignored Ranma's question. "Come closer so I can clean the scratches in your face!" she said. "Those should be cleansed before you got yourself an infection."

"Hmp! Tomboy…," he chuckled under his breath but was touched by the thoughtfulness of his fiancée. He really liked her like this, gentle, kind, thoughtful and lovely. He chuckled again as he thought of this. He might not admit it but he, for sure, cared so much for the youngest Tendo. He's new with this feeling but not totally ignorant of what this might lead them. She was her fiancée and she'll be his wife in the future, took over the dojo, and have kids. Thinking of this made his cheeks so red and made his heart race all over his chest. If it's not for their complicated relationship, he knew for sure that they'll end up together. He unconsciously laid his eyes to her face as he thought about it. Seeing her beautiful, focused, and determined face made him stare at her lovingly.

"What are you looking at? You look more stupid, stupid!" she asked. She couldn't control the blood that was already travelling in her cheeks. She snorted but still gently patting Ranma's scratches. "It's impolite to stare, you know, especially if you look like a perverted idiot," she said to hide the embarrassment.

He pouted but did not say anything. He knew that she was as embarrass as him and was just trying to hide those rosy cheeks from him. She did not yell and he couldn't feel any sarcasm or harm from her words. At least for now, he avoided putting his foot to his mouth which always the reason why they end up having a 'word war.'

Akane found his pout very adorable. _'Adorable? Well, at least he didn't fight back…,'_ she thought. She liked this. He should just keep his mouth shut and avoid calling her names and for her part, she just had to be patient and not jump into conclusion before hitting him. Her thoughts turned back from his previous question regarding the Chinese bimbo. She knew for herself the reason why she kicked Shampoo. She did not intend to lie but to avoid helping him to boost his already big ego, she had to. The cat-girl had been irritating her from the start, ever since she arrived in Nerima. Shampoo was loud, bold, and her accent was annoying. She was also sexy, beautiful and knew how to cook: good qualities that every man desired, including her fiancé, Ranma. Her chest tighten by the mere fact that she's not as beautiful or as bold as Shampoo, that her culinary skills sucked to hell, that Ranma couldn't see her as a potential wife. It was hurtful for her to realize that she was the exact opposite of the Chinese girl, even to Ukyo. The only thing that she could offer was her love, true love. _'Love? Yeah, sure it is…'_ she thought. She was aware of her feelings towards her reluctant fiancé. And she was very sure that she felt envious and jealous to Shampoo, that's why she kicked her. She didn't want to be territorial or possessive but what was hers, was hers only. And that Chinese slut needed some wake up call not to lay hands on her man. _'Hmmm… that sounds nice… my man,'_ she said thru her mind, she thought.

"Now, you look stupid," Ranma said which interrupted Akane's day dreaming.

"Huh? What?" she said very confusedly. Because she was startled, she added a little force to Ranma's wound.

"Ouch, 'kane! What'd you that for?" he complained. "You said that I'm impolite for staring you then you started staring at me with that goofy, ehem, eyes of yours, then you went blank and murmured something then all of a sudden you pressed my wound? What's with you?"

"I-I day dreamed then murmured something…?"

"Hell yeah! And, uhm, and you kept s-staring at me, and something like 'my man' or something!" he explained_. 'Damn those eyes! So adorable!'_

"I-I said that?" she asked to confirm. Akane felt that all of her blood was not in her cheeks only, but all through her face and neck.

"Damn it! Yes! And s-stop looking at me like that!" he exclaimed. Now he was as red as her.

"Oh yeah, sorry," she dumbly replied. _'My God! I thought I was just saying that through my head! Then how the hell he heard it?'_ she made sure that she thought it. She could feel her face as hot as the flat iron. Seeing Ranma so crimson made her felt more embarrassed and more dizzy.

She tried to finish putting band-aids in his face with trembling and cold hands. "That would be the last, Ranma," she announced but never pulled herself back from their closeness.

"Uhm, thanks 'kane…,' he said while trying to kill the pressure between him and his fiancée. He ignored the discomfort feeling of their closeness. Though he felt it, he also never pulled back, and preferred to stay his face near Akane's face. He could even smell the mint from her toothpaste while she breathed. Her breath brushed his mouth and tickled his nose. He didn't mind, at all. Out of no where, he cleared his throat and asked, "So, w-who's this 'my man' of yours?"

"R-Ranma…,"

He felt confident to pull his face closer to Akane as she mentioned his name. He could feel that that was the answer to his last question. He knew… he could feel it. He didn't want to mess this moment, so he just placed his left hand above the table and the other to Akane's hand. He squeezed her hand when he felt it shake.

Akane's hands trembled as she saw him coming closed to her. She unconsciously closed her eyes to hide the shyness. She balled her fist to the band-aid wrappers that she was still holding to stop the trembling. She felt his cold hand unto her also cold hand. Her upper lip felt his breath, indicating that his face was few centimeters from her. 'This is it!'

CRACK!

To be continued…

Eheheheheh… Sorry, I am still working on chapter and hope to finish it soon, very soon. For a meantime, thank you for reading and review!


	3. Chapter 3 Denial

Yay! Here's another update! Thank you soooo much for the reviews! Enjoy reading…

Italized sentences are said in thoughts. Sorry, I don't how they call it.

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ranma ½.

Chapter 3

CRACK!

A loud cracking sound disturbed Ranma's and Akane's intimate moment. She snapped her eyes open to look where the loud sound came from. Ranma, on the other hand, was startled from the sound and jumped to his feet as it woke him up from his dreamy state.

"What the hell was that?" he inquired. They could still hear few small cracking sounds from the wall and few rocks rolled from it.

Shampoo's image appeared from the smoke.

"Is kitchen-destroyer trying to kiss my Airen?" she glared at Akane.

"Wha-?" the only sound that Akane could mutter.

"Or it was Airen who try kissing that Kitchen-Destroyer?" the Chinese teen asked as she shifted her eyes to still startled Ranma.

"What? I was… I was not trying to kiss her!" he denied. The statement made Akane looked sharply at Ranma. Because of embarrassment, he just looked at Shampoo and tried to explain more, or deny more.

"…" Akane just opened her mouth but did not say anything. She couldn't explain if she was angry, or mad, or embarrassed, betrayed or hurt.

"W-Who would've wanted to kiss such a klutz, uncute and sexless tomboy!" he yelled but instantly regretted it. He breathed heavily as those words escaped from his lips. He was scared to look at her direction. He knew what he would be seeing there.

A smirk appeared on the cat-girl's lips. "Of course, Airen love to kiss Shampoo instead! Yay!" she happily said.

"Y-You thinks so, Ranma?" she whispered. Akane couldn't even raise her voice because she felt her breath was blocked from her throat. "Then what… what was that?" she was now staring at him but he kept his eyes low, avoiding to look anywhere. "Oh yeah, I'm sorry! I-I…," she paused. Akane couldn't even continue what she was about to say. Her fists were already white from clenching it. Her vision also became blurry and her lower lip didn't stop from trembling. She couldn't understand herself. She usually yelled at Ranma then kicked him and then ran to her room. She just stayed there, sitting in her legs, with trembling lips and watery eyes. She hissed and stood up. "I'm going to my room now. R-Ranma, please clean the living room once Shampoo left. My father will cry his eyes out if he sees this mess and you… you don't want another blackmail from Nabiki," she finally said then ran upstairs. Her eyes were closed when she ran as she tried to hide the tears. She was unaware that there was another person in the vicinity aside from them, who was leaning in the wall of the hall and heard everything.

"…," Ranma stayed in his place. He never moved any muscles aside from his fist. He clenched his fist as tight as he could. He wanted to call her back or follow her but he thought that it would just make the situation worse especially if his mouth stroked again. He breathed heavily and cursed, _'damn it! Damn it! Damn it!'_ He saw her eyes before she stood up. Hurt, sadness, betrayal, everything was there. He couldn't explain the hurt he felt for himself as he saw it. He admitted to himself that he was becoming more sensitive especially towards his fiancée's feelings. Her eyes showed how he hurt her and tears in there weren't enough to know it.

"Airen, Kitchen-destroyer left let's go on date-"

"Leave, Shampoo!" Ranma cut the cat-girl. "I'm asking you as nicely as I could, please, leave," he said trying to hide the anger and depression from his voice.

"Hmp! Fine! Airen must not go to Kitchen-destroyer room. She knows truth. You my husband and go to China and make strong children-!"

"I said leave!" his voice was hoarse and loud. He didn't want to snap like that but his patience ran out and he knew that he messed up this time, big time.

The Amazon was startled. Ranma never shouted to her before. Feeling a warm aura from his claimed husband, she left using the same hole she created then leaped.

"Shit!" he slumped himself back to the floor then rested his elbow on the table, putting his chin on it. He stroked his hair furiously. "Damn it!"

"You said it very well, Saotome. Telling _that_ to a lovely and actually _in love_ girl, yeah, sure does very well said. By now, you should learn to chose your words and chose to whom you gonna tell it. Everybody knows how big your ego is but you should know for yourself that the ego which you have been known for would destroy you in the end… slowly, hypocrite!" Nabiki explained as she showed herself from the door then turning her heels upstairs to go back to bed which she didn't think would be possible because she would her Akane's sobs all throughout the night.

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4 Hurt

Here's the update…Sorry guys if the other update was too short.

_Italics - thought_

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½.

Chapter 4

Akane ran to her room without noticing her sister Nabiki leaning on the wall. She was too distraught and her eyes were too blurry to see but she managed to reach her room. She slowly closed the door and leaned at the back of it as she entered her room. She tried to calm herself but with no avail. Her knees and hands were still shaking, her lower lip was still trembling, tears continued to wet her face, she still breathed heavily and her heart was still pounding. Her tears flooded more to her cheeks. It was already there even before she entered her room. She didn't care. Ranma could no longer see her face by that time. She thought that she was able to show a poker face to her fiancé before she left the living room.

"Am I that uncute not to be desired? Yeah! I am not as sexy and not as pretty or as talented as his other fiancés, but… am I not that attractive and no one wanted to kiss me?" her insecurity stoke as Akane murmured in her pillow as she laid flat in her stomach and pressed her face unto the pillow. She cried her heart out. She felt that her eyes no longer stopped from shedding tears. "He tried to kiss me, didn't he? Or was I just imagining things or just fantasize? Tsk! I might end up dehydrated if I keep crying all night, hehehehe!" a fake smile ran across her beautiful but sad face. "But I can't help it! I don't want to go to school with fluffy and red eyes," she continued. She tried to control the tears but she ended up shaking and hiccupping. "Come on! Stop it, please! Please!" she sobbed more because of hurt and anger to his fiancé.

Nabiki stopped a little in front of Akane's room after talking to Ranma. She stared at the wooden duck hanging in her sister's door. It was surprising that the same door didn't slam the whole frame when Akane entered. Her little sister was known for destroying everything she passed when she and Ranma got into fight. The only hint that the youngest Tendo was there was the little sobs she heard. If her cries could be heard from her current position which was outside the room, how loud could that be from the inside? "Tsk! She's gonna disturb me again. That idiot Ranma!" she grumbled under her breath.

Nabiki went to her room and sat on her chair looking at the papers scattered at the top of her table. She massaged the bridge of her nose then to her temples. She lost her focus because of this bickering couple and now she had to recall her computation. "Hmp! I should've marked the finished stuff. Now I even forgot to get what I was about to get in the kitchen! Damn it! And I have to repeat the budget for repairs," she mumbled while scratching her scalp. "Poor Akane for having the most idiot fiancé in the whole world. And worse she likes that bastard!" She gathered the papers and sorted it, planning to go to sleep and redo it tomorrow night. "Good luck for me if I can get a sleep after these occurrences," she sighed.

In the meantime, Ranma was still sitting and almost did not move from his position since Nabiki left. It felt that everything was new to him: he almost kissed Akane. Yeah, he admitted that he was disappointed that it did not happen but he was more disappointed to himself for saying such cruel words to his fiancée. He did tease her, the typical him, but she showed a different reaction. He didn't receive a kick, a punch or harsh words from her, instead, she just asked him a very simple question. And the worse, he did not react as fast he moved when he fought. "I think I hurt her feelings… no… I did hurt her. It was written all over her face. Tsk! I'm stupid!" he stated to himself. His heart pounded more in his chest as if it was about to jump from his body. The thought of hurting Akane was beyond his imagination. He hated to see her cry or hurt, but the mere fact that he was the reason why she cried and hurt, that's unforgivable. "That Shampoo…," he hissed but stopped realizing that he was at fault. Shampoo just asked a question and he denied it with an insult. He really wanted to kiss Akane and it should've happened if Shampoo didn't crash there. "But Shampoo might attack her if I said yes. But I can protect her from Shampoo, or I could've denied it without insulting her and…. damn it! Stupid! Stupid!" Ranma spat to himself while trying to pull all of his hair. He harshly sighed and bowed his head. "I screwed up…"

After thinking of his dilemma without any resolution, he stood up and started to clean the living room. He picked up the wrapper of band-aids and used cottons and smiled to himself while thinking how gentle her hands were while attending his wounds. He couldn't believe that it were the same small hands which pounded him almost every day. He cleared the area and removed the rocks that came from the wall where Shampoo blasted.

Ranma climbed to the roof after cleaning the area. He needed to think and he doubted that he could get a sleep after what he did. He laid himself in his usual spot, at the top of Akane's room. He lay in his back, both hands at the back of his head for support. He closed his eyes and sensed her aura if she was really in her room because he did not hear any slam when she ran upstairs. He could feel her, her sad aura. He could even hear small sobs from her room, making him clenched his fist and jaw. He didn't want to hear anyone's cry, most especially her, his lovely fiancé. He smirked. She was indeed lovely. Then why the hell he called her uncute and questioned if someone would've wanted to kiss her? He did desire her and even tried to kiss her. He dreamed of it every day and it was about to come true, he was almost there, almost tasted her lips. He remembered how much electric chills he got while leaning closer to her face. It gave him shivers when he felt her nervous breath under his nose. Her eyes were already closed then as he tried to keep his eyes open to see her face, her kissing face. Although half-lidded, he was able to see how her cheeks burned and how her brows twitched while anticipating his kiss. He removed his other hand from the back of his head and touched his lips. Then boom! He didn't feel her lips. He just saw her curious and startled face, but she still has that cute blush in her face, plus the smoky air and that Amazon. He sighed heavily again. He silently got up from the roof and walked to where Akane's window was located. He moved like a cat and did not create even a slightest sound. He wanted to see her, desperately. He wanted to make sure that she was there slumber.

Ranma peeked at Akane's window and saw her prone position. The room was dark but the dim light from the moon was enough to see her face. She was slightly positioned diagonally in her bed, seemed that she hadn't moved since she got there. Her eyes were shut closed and her face was still wet, of course from her tears and sweat. She sniffed once in a while. Her brows formed a scowl and partially parted lips, maybe to breathe properly. She was clenching the bed sheet and she looked very vulnerable. She shifted, in fetal position, her face was still facing the window and he could still see her wet face. She then put both of her palms to cover her face then sobbed. He could clearly see how her shoulders shake from crying. The scene made his heart stopped. He didn't like this, not at all. Everything in him stopped, even his breathing, just seeing her like that. Something blocked his throat and he had to swallow hard to breathe then a small gasp escaped from his parted lips. He pulled himself up back to the roof and breathed heavily. He slumped himself in the cold tiles of the roof as he felt that his knees weakened. He couldn't bear watching her in that state. He tried to calm himself as he panted more. His right fist clenched his Chinese shirt in front of his chest as he felt he still couldn't breathe and seemed like his heart was squeezed. He then rested his forehead to his left palm, holding his head as he felt like it was so heavy and about to fall. He couldn't understand the feeling, especially when his vision became blurry felt something wet rolled his cheek.

'_Damn it! Am I crying? What the hell-_' he thought. After a short pause, Ranma smiled. He couldn't explain why but all he knew was he had to correct things out. He had to see her beam in him again with her bright smile and he'll do anything to do that. The problem is he had no plan yet. 'Seems that I have to be awake for a little longer to come up with a plan to make it up to Akane," he finished.

To be continued…

Whew! Another chapter! And the other chapter is still in progress and I'm working my butt off to finish it as soon as possible. Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5 Nightmare

Here's the update, guys! I'm sorry if the other chapters were too short. I just want to divide the story into chapters according to the chapter name (or title?). But still, thank you for the comments and reviews!

Kaebi – eheheheeh... It just so happened that I finished each chapter every other day. But thanks for the advice to take my time, I will!

jdcocogirl - thanks for the idea but I put a little spice (wink wink)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½

Chapter 5

Ranma was still lying in the roof just above Akane's room. He admitted to himself that he just cried after seeing how he hurt her fiancée. He couldn't bear looking at her like that so he managed to lay there and think. He still couldn't think of anything, his mind was full of Akane's crying face. After a while, he decided to check on her again. He peeked through the window and found Akane still in her fetal position but her fists were resting in front of her face. He drew a little closer to have a good look at her face. The moonlight helped him see how soft her skin was and how beautiful she was. He could see the traces of tears from her cheeks but were already dried up. He was surprised to find himself already standing at the side of her bed staring down at her. He kneeled in front of Akane and stared lovingly. He tried to stop himself from touching her face but with no avail. He gently touched her cheeks and tucked the loose hair that's covering her eyes.

'_She has fallen asleep. She looks peaceful and still beautiful,'_ he thought. "I am sorry that I hurt you," he absently whispered. "I'll make it up to you, I promise," he continued, still cupping her face.

"…"

Ranma felt a sudden panic when Akane moved her head a little. He let go of her face then moved back. She went back to sleep and mumbled his name. He felt a pang of guilt, that after what he did, she still dreamed of him. He knew that it was a happy dream as she smiled a little after mentioning his name. Satisfied, he stood up and looked back at Akane's sleeping form before leaving the room. He closed the window then went to the guest room where he shared it with his sleeping father, in his panda form.

He laid himself at his futon and closed his eyes to rest his tired mind. He still couldn't think of anything on how he could make it up to Akane. He sure did promise to apologize personally but he still wanted to do something for her. The scene he saw a while ago was like a nightmare and unbearable so he didn't want to see it again, ever.

'_How would I make things better? I still don't have something in my sleeves, tsk! Maybe I should-,'_ his thought was interrupted by a large snore from a sleeping panda beside him. "Damn it!" he groaned. "I should've stayed at the roof! How would I think if all I hear is a loud snore from this stupid panda?"

He laid in his side, face away from his sleeping father, using his other arm as a pillow then rested the other in front of him. His mind was very tired and he closed his eyes.

"_Akane?"_

"_Ranma, I want a kiss. I want my first real kiss to be a memorable one. And I want it to be with someone worth it," Akane shyly said. Her face was all red while both of her hands were trying to play the hem of her blouse._

_Ranma shyly scratched his cheek using his finger and shyly looked down so that Akane would not see his burning face. "I didn't know that you want it that bad and have to say it boldly. I am sorry that our kiss was interrupted but I don't mind if you like to try it again. I mean, of course, every girl wants it to be like a fantasy or something," he finished._

"_You mean you don't mind? I mean, uhm, it's okay with you?" the girl questioned excitedly with her both hands sweetly clasped in front of her chest. _

"_Yeah sure! I don't… don't mind at all. It's just a kiss and I know that others will mind but for me, I don't care! The hell with them!" he smirked and proudly said._

"_Really? Oh God! This is very exciting… a kiss! Thank you, Ranma!" Akane yelped then jumped to Ranma for a hug._

_Ranma was so surprised but was able to catch the very excited and happy Akane. He returned her hug tightly. He smelled her sweet scent and brushed her lips to her short hair. "If that what would make you happy and to make it up to you, I really don't mind at all. I am obliged to do so and very happy to do it," he whispered in her ear._

"_Huh?" Akane pulled her face from his chest then dumbly replied. "Well, I am happy that you are happy with it and I am very glad that you wouldn't mind," she stared at him with those glistering chocolate eyes. A small smile appeared on her lips. "Thank you again, Ranma,"_

"_Not a problem, Akane," he smirked then slowly leaned closer to Akane's face. He was about to close his eyes when she pulled away from him then stepped back from him._

_The beautiful smile was still in her face when she bowed. "Thank you for the approval, Ranma,"_

"_Huh?" he automatically opened his eyes as he heard what she said. "Approval?" he confusedly said. "What do you-," he then stopped as he saw Ryoga appeared from nowhere. "Ryoga?" he inquired and more confused of his rival/friend sudden appearance. "What the hell are you doing here?" He looked at Akane and still saw the bright small while her head was tilted._

"_He's with me, Ranma," she plainly told Ranma and then turned her back to him. She looked at Ryoga, "Ranma agreed, Ryoga-kun! He approved! Let's do it!" she excitedly said then jumped to Ryoga. She hugged Ryoga which made Ranma more confused and agitated. She once again looked at Ranma's direction, "Thank you again, Ranma," then kissed Ryoga fully in the lips. _

"_What the hell are you doing, Akane?" he shouted as the scene snapped him back to his senses. "Let her go, you bacon-breath! Stop it, Akane. He's P-chan!" he yelled desperately. "Damn it, Akane! You can't do this to me! Please stop it!" he hoarsely continued. He was about to run to the kissing couple's direction when another black blurry thing appeared in front of him. He avoided the collision then he stepped back. "What the fuck-?"_

"_You really don't have any manners, Saotome! You can't just run like that to my beloved Akane Tendo. Just for your sake and to avoid any punishment from me, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan, Tatewaki Kuno, you need, or I may say, you must fall in line. I am next to that low-life bandana boy and there are others next after me. I know that your patience is an inch long, but still, you have to endure it," he spat to Ranma while his wooden sword was pointed to the pig-tailed boy._

_Ranma relaxed from his fighting stance when he heard Kuno's eccentric antics. "What the fuck are you talking about, idiot? Just get out of my face before I kick your ass out of here!" he growled to the sword-boy. His knuckles were already white as he clenched it tightly. He could hear Akane's and Ryoga's moans behind Kuno. He couldn't take it anymore. He was about to attack Kuno when another blur interfered._

"_Do what he says, you bastard!" Happosai said. "There is a line and every one is patiently waiting. Although you are my student, I cannot give you my spot which is next to this asshole," the old man finished as he pointed Kuno._

"_Even you, old freak?"_

"_Just shut up and fall in line, Ranma!" Prince Toma shouted from the line._

"_You always wanted to do it in hard way," another one from the line shouted, Shinnosuke._

"_Could you just please stop that! The line is not moving!" Prince Kirin stated as he got bored._

_Ranma stepped back as each one from the line shouted at him. A very long pile of men slowly appeared in his sight. He even saw almost all the male student from their school that Akane fought before every morning. "This is not happening! Would you stop that Ryoga! Akane, listen to me! Move away from P-chan! I'm going to knock him down! Move!" he pleaded._

_Akane stopped making out with Ryoga then faced Ranma. "What's your problem, Ranma? Why don't you just go in the line, at the end of it of course, to be fair with others," she mockingly told Ranma. Her eyes were glaring at him sharply but no emotions could be read on it. "I don't know where the end of the line is but it is better for you start moving. I don't want any commotion, or I might end up cancelling this!" The crowd protested when they heard her last sentence. "Okay! Okay! I won't! So just be quiet and wait in your line, jeez!" she continued then faced the very angry Ranma again. _

"_What are you doing, Akane? This is not you. Let's go home," he uttered then offered his trembling hands to Akane. He couldn't stop from shaking but he had to control himself from releasing a very large __Shi Shi Hokodan. He just wanted to get away from that place with Akane. He'll forgive her from kissing Ryoga like that and for agreeing to those idiots in the line to kiss her._

_Akane walked closer to Ranma then swatted his hand which startled him. "Then what? It's either you fall in line or leave, it's your call. If you also want to kiss me like these guys, please fall in line!" she sarcastically said._

_A-Akane…?"_

"_Look at these guys, Ranma. Look at them!" Akane shouted pointing at the pile of men behind her. Ranma unconsciously looked at the line then to Akane. "They are hungry, hungry for me, for my kiss! They are waiting in this long line just to taste my lips and to feel me!" she angrily shouted at him. _

_Ranma paled then backed away while Akane was stepping towards him with fire in her eyes. Her face showed no emotion but anger and despair. Her fists are clenched tightly and her brows formed a very deep scowl, but her lips had a smirk. "Akane, I-I don't understand…," he exasperated._

"_You really are as stupid as ever, Ranma," she said while crossing her arms to her chest, the fake smile still in her lips. "This line of men answers your question, baka!"_

"_What question?" he mumbled then gasped as he remembered their encounter on that late afternoon. "I-I don't mean it, Akane and you don't mean this mess, right?" he exhaustedly asked._

"_Now, Ranma, how can you say that no one, as in no one would have wanted to kiss me, your klutz, uncute and sexless fiancé?" she smirked, ignoring Ranma's last question. "Well, they are! These perverts want me! They're dying to kiss me, to taste meeee?" she eyed him with those teary but fierce eyes. She was clutching the cloth in front of her chest and she was breathing heavily. _

"_N-No! This is not happening. Stop this, Akane! Snap out of it!" he pleaded then tried to reach Akane but was blocked by Ryoga. _

"_Leave now, Ranma!" the bandana boy demanded. "You can have your turn early if you going to fall in line as early as now. I'll be back at the line because I can't get enough of Akane-chan. She tasted better that I expected," he hungrily told his rival. "Hey Kendo-boy! It's your turn now!" he shouted to Kuno without looking at his direction. "I am going back to the line, so if you'll excuse me," _

"_Hahahaha! At last! You are all mine now, my beloved Akane Tendo!"_

"_Yahoo! Make it fast, boy! I will be next! And I am going to taste my Akane-chan! Yipeeee!" the old fast Happosai happily announced._

_All the guys behind the old man suddenly got excited and started to move. The other guys fought each other while the others tried their way to Akane. They hungrily ran towards her with like a pack of wolves trying to catch its prey._

'_S-Stop! Don't you dare lay your filthy hands to her! Akane, fight back! They are coming! Akaneeeee! Ranma shouted while trying to get Akane away from the fighting crowd. Unfortunately, he couldn't move from his position. He ran, then jumped but he never moved an inch from where he was. "What the hell?" He desperately tried to run again to Akane but it seemed that she couldn't even hear him. She was even smiling while looking at the guys who tried to devour her. "No! Akaneeeeeeeee!"_

_SPLASH!_

_To be continued…_


	6. Chapter 6 Breakfast

Whew! Here's the update. I intended to make this fiction a short one but as I do it, flood of ideas came so I ended up adding more chapters. Actually this should be a one-shot fic, but, here you go, it's my 6th chapter. I don't know how long will this be. Anyway, as long as the idea is there, that's good, right?

Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½.

Chapter 6

SPLASH!

"What the hell-?" the guest room was flooded with a high-pitched voice of a red-haired girl. "Why you-"

SMACK!

A hit from a wooden board completely woke her up. "What did you do that for, you fur ball?" she questioned the angry panda, holding a crashed wooden board.

'You are the worst alarm clock in the whole world, fool!'

"Alarm clock? What the hell are you talking about? Look at me! Now, I'm all wet and… and have boobs! Damn it, old fart!" the girl yelled.

'You have been shouting Akane's name! Nice alarm tone!' the wooden board said, in the hand of the still annoyed animal.

"Wha-What? You gonna be kidding me! Hmpf!" she snorted but was thankful that the whole thing was just a dream, a nightmare. She could still fully remember every angle of the dream that made her twitched from her seat.

'It's okay to dream about your fiancée, very romantic…' the panda flipped the wooden board, 'but don't wake others up!'

Ranma-chan just hissed then crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Yeah, yeah! Just go back to sleep, oyaji!" she said. The panda laid back to his futon, facing his back to his son. Ranma-chan could feel that her father was sensing her as its ears twitched. She knew that her father might use it as a reason to force her to do an immediate wedding again with Akane. "I said go back to sleep, circus freak! Or you prefer me to make you sleep, huh?" she threatened.

'Zzzzzz…" a wooden board appeared from nowhere.

"Why you-" she was about to attack the panda.

'Okay! Okay! I'll sleep, you ingrate!' another board popped.

"Geez!" Ranma-chan cursed as she slumped herself back to the futon. "Now, how can I go back to sleep?" she mumbled, still feeling dazed. She didn't want to close her eyes because she might end up remembering the dream again, or worse she might end up asleep then continued the dream. She could feel her mouth dry and her throat sore, as if she had been shouting the whole night. _'I can't blame him for hitting me. I might had been shouting, 'cause my throat is dry and I am still trembling, damn!' _she thought while holding her aching throat.

Ranma-chan tried to go back to sleep but unable to do so. She had been flipping, tossing and turning in her futon. When she felt that the sun was about to rise, she lazily got up then went to the bathroom. She preferred to be in his male form when doing the morning practice. She just dumped warm water then left the bathroom. The now male Ranma did his katas without his father. He thought that their morning practice would be the morning fight with breakfast.

While resting for a while, his sight went to Akane's window. The dream was still in his mind and he couldn't help but to sigh heavily. _'She might be in her morning run_,' he thought. '_I'll personally apologize to her. Yeah, I'll do it before we arrived to school_.' His thought was interrupted by a surprise attack from his father.

"Don't slack, son! It seems you are daydreaming of something again!" Genma said while trying to kick and punch Ranma.

"Shut up, old man! Who the hell is day dreaming? And you think I'll get easy on you?" he retorted then kicked his father hard, throwing him to the pond.

A fur of black and white appeared from the pond. 'Is he mad of the word 'dream'? That was unfair!' the wooden board said.

Ranma sniffed then ran at the house as he heard Kasumi's sweet voice. Everyone gathered in the dining table except for one, Akane. He discreetly looked for her and did not touch his food. He wanted to wait for Akane to come and sit beside him.

A vein popped at Nabiki's forehead because of Ranma's incomprehensible facial expression. She knew Ranma very well. She can read him as clearly as an open book. And he himself was not a very good liar or a very obvious guy. "You'll starve yourself if you are waiting for Akane. And Uncle Genma is already drooling at your food," she calmly said.

"Huh?" he dumbly replied.

"I'll tell where she is for a very affordable price, ne? Ranma-kuuuun," Nabiki teased Ranma. She fought to laugh hard as she saw his face turned to a very ripe tomato because of embarrassment.

"Nabiki! Don't make fun of Ranma-kun. Look at him; his cheeks are so red now. Don't mind him, Ranma," the motherly Kasumi said to the still very red Ranma.

The two fathers looked at Ranma's direction then grinned evilly. "Did you hear that, Soun? My son is waiting for his fiancée and it seems that he can't eat if she's not around," Genma said to his old friend.

"Indeed, indeed, my friend. And, hmmmm… it is like I'm hearing bells, and then school will be united hahahaha!" Soun responded with glistering eyes.

"Knock it off!" Ranma spat, slamming the table.

"Oh my!"

"Hmmm… It seems that someone here woke up in the wrong side of the bed," Nabiki smirked at the provoked Ranma. "Oh well, it is actually hard to sleep especially if you hit something hard or said something very, very stupid and you don't know what to do with or you can't take it back because your ego is as big as Japan, hmmm… something like that," she finished.

"And what do you mean by that?" he grumbled, staring directly at Nabiki.

"I think you know what I mean, stupid! Or you prefer me to recall it to you?" the blackmailer replied, one eye brow was up, staring back to Ranma.

Ranma was taken aback by Nabiki. He remembered that she was there when that 'incident' happened and she even had her speech after. He wanted to say something but couldn't. He felt that he no longer have blood in his head. "I-I…" he tried to continue but did not know what to say.

"What incident?" the old Saotome inquired. "Oh! Whatever that was, it might be the reason why Ranma was screaming Akane's name in his dream! Hahahaha!"

"That's so romantic! Is that so, Ranma-kun?" Kasumi added.

"Huhuhu! My future son-in-law is indeed dreaming about my baby!" Soun Tendo said while wiping his tears.

"That's interesting Uncle Genma. Right, Ranma?" Nabiki evilly smiled at Ranma and thought of adding that to blackmail Ranma in the future.

Ranma said nothing. He was trying to calm himself. He was practicing his patience especially in the time of pressure and stress, or he might end up saying hurtful and unnecessary things again, like what he did to Akane. "Stop it! I'm going to school now!" he stood up then left the dining room.

Everyone was dumbfounded, except for Nabiki. She just stood up then followed Ranma. "I'm also done now. Bye!"

"Have a nice day, Ranma-kun, Nabiki-chan!" hummed by Kasumi.

"Ranma, make sure you won't come back for your breakfast because I already ate them, hahahaha!" Genma proudly said with food still in his mouth.

"It's all yours," Ranma mumbled as he wore his shoes.

"Aren't going to ask where Akane is?" Nabiki questioned Ranma.

"I want to but I don't have enough cash here so I'll find her myself," he simply replied, not looking at her soon-to-be-sister.

"I'll tell you for free, just for you to apologize your sorry ass," he then looked at Nabiki. She smirked as she saw determination in his eyes. He looked serious and he was patiently waiting for information from her. She smiled then crossed her arms over her chest and shifted her body weight to her side. "She's already at school. She left early, not only because of you," she paused as she felt he stiffened. "I bet you don't know this, but the School Festival will be the next day after tomorrow. And I also bet, all my wealth, that you don't know what booth was assigned to your class," she finished.

"Huh?" he dumbly responded. He felt like he lost all of his senses. "Oh yeah, I think I remember sensei saying something about booth and colors and something like that stuff, but, but I don't know, really."

"Thank God! I can keep my wealth! Anyway, it seems that you are back to your senses, Saotome. I decided to put this on your tab instead," she smirked as she heard him cursed. "This information is so crucial so this one will worth from your pocket. Your class was assigned to take care of the Kissing Booth and raise fund from it," she explained

"That's it? I can even ask that to our classmates," he stated then turned his back to Nabiki to leave.

"Akane will be the **maiden** of the Kissing Booth. What a coincidence, ne Ranma-kun?" she finished.

Ranma froze.

To be continued…

**Maiden** – the lady of the Kissing Booth, whom the guy will kiss then give their tickets as payment. The kiss will be depending on the price of the ticket. For example, bronze ticket is for a kiss in the hand; silver is for forehead; and gold ticket for cheeks or lips or neck.

Whew! Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7 Undecided

Another boring shift, so another chapter was created eheheheheh…

Thank you for the reviews. Enjoy reading!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½.

Chapter 7 Undecided

"What did you just say?" he retorted after he turned to face Nabiki.

"After being stupid, you are deaf now?" Nabiki sarcastically asked.

"I mean, what do you mean by that she's the maiden?" he impatiently asked the middle Tendo whom one brow was still up and was still looked bored.

"She'll be the Kissing Booth Maiden. You know, she'll get paid for every kiss she'll get or give. They were asked to raise fund and you know how generous and kind my little sister is and how she is always desperate to help others, for sure you knew that already," she partially explained but was still wearing the cold face. "So, she'll get paid for letting those hungry male species of Furinkan High to kiss her and/or kiss them and your class can raise the-"

"I know that! I get! I get it! Just stop rubbing that to my face!" Ranma snapped causing the blackmailer to stop her explanation. He then sighed heavily and let out a growl. "I know what the Kissing Booth Maiden is and I know what her roles, okay?" he said as he tried to calm himself.

"I'm quite surprise that you know that, Saotome. I thought you are just a nagging ball of ego. And just so you know, any one who cuts me while I'm talking pays a price," she explained and looked Ranma coldly. "And that's another in your tab," she finished.

"Whatever, Nabiki," he surrendered then turned her back again to Nabiki to leave.

"What are you gonna do now, Saotome? Let those hungry wolves devour my little sister? Oh! I bet Kuno-baby had bought all the tickets and hmmmm, maybe Ryoga bought quarter of it then-"

"Just cut it off!" he exasperated. "I-I know I screwed up last night, okay? And… and I have been thinking what to do, so please Nabiki, don't pressure me," he pleaded.

Nabiki just stared at the back of his future brother-in-law. She observed how he stiffened and how he clenched his fists because of desperation. She knew for herself that if she going to look at his blue eyes, she'll see determination and how he truly cared for Akane. She also knew that she already pushed the correct button and she's done with him, but, it was still in his tab. "You just save me some money, Saotome. But this still goes to your tab. I don't want to be late, ciao!" she then ran passed him.

"Shit!" he cursed when he realized that he had to get to school as early as he could to talk to Akane, especially now that he knew that she'll be the maiden.

Meanwhile, in Furinkan High School.

"Please, Akane. You are the only one destined for this!" one of her classmates said.

"She's right, Akane-chan. You are the most popular girl in school and any one would want you. I mean, we can raise big funds! Please do the part," her other female classmate said.

"But I-I don't know if I can do that. I mean… We can still raise fund without the maiden, right?" Akane tried to resist.

"Then how can we do that? Do you have any suggestion? The festival will be two days from now."

"Yeah, and we have to finish the decorations of our booth before we go home today. And tomorrow, we have to start building the booth and use these decorations. Unfortunately, the design was made for a maiden and we don't have enough money to buy another set of decors for your suggestion, that is, if you have any," the class president explained.

"Oh geez...! What did I do to deserve this?" Akane mumbled as she massaged her temples. She was still exhausted from crying last night and she's not feeling well, physically and emotionally. "For a meantime, I don't have any suggestion, but can you please wait until after the lunch break. I'll think of another gimmick to raise fund, other than being the maiden. Can you wait for me until that time, guys? Please?" she pleaded.

"That's okay, Akane. We then have to stop cutting these colored papers and clean the mess. The homeroom class is about to start in minutes. Until the lunch break, Akane. Think of another gimmick or you'll be the maiden," the class president looked at Akane with hopeful but determined eyes.

"Hai! I'll come up with a new plan for our booth and for the fund," Akane replied. She exhaustedly rested her head to her desk pillowing her folded arms. She felt like her strength was drained from that conversation with her classmates. "I have to come up with a new idea for the booth to avoid being the maiden. How can I do that if I'm lacking of sleep, my head aches and my heart also aches?" she mumbled, taking to herself. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. Her eyes were snapped open when she remembered what Ranma said to her last night. It did hurt her, his words kept on playing in her ears and mind.

"Good morning, class!" the teacher greeted them.

Akane sat straight as she heard their teacher entered the room. She was thankful that their sensei somehow saved her from reminiscing the incident last night. She then remembered Ranma. She didn't need to look back to feel him. She could tell that he arrived well, not late and his eyes were on hers as she was that familiar with his aura. She wanted to look back and stare at his blue eyes but she fought not to. She bit her lips and closed her eyes again. Her mind was floating as she tried to concentrate with the lesson. While doing so, Akane felt that Ranma's gaze never left her. It felt like he had been observing her actions since he arrived. She knew that he wanted to apologize as he always did when they fought but she felt that this thing was different. He pushed her to her limits and her heart was totally broken by her fiancé.

_'Who would've wanted to kiss a klutz, uncute, and sexless tomboy?'_

"So what if no one wants to kiss me? So what if I'm a klutz, I'm uncute, I'm sexless, I'm built like a brick? So what if he didn't love me back?" she questioned herself but a pang of pain rushed to her chest and she had to clutch her school uniform for her to breathe properly. She started to see blur. Her eyes were now watery and felt like there was something in her throat. She was now breathing heavily and could feel Ranma's intense gaze. "Am I that obvious?" she mumbled. She looked at her left; Yuka was there, writing something in her notebook with smile plastered in her face which seemed not related to the subject. She then looked at right and saw Hiroshi, who also smiling and looking blankly at the board. "So I'm not the only one not focusing in the lesson," she realized and still mumbling. She massaged the bridge of her nose as she felt her head aches again and then discreetly wiped her tears. "I have to think of something to replace the Kissing Booth Maiden idea. I want to help the class raise the fund. Sensei said that it'll help the orphanage that the school sponsored this year. Wait! What time is it? Is it already lunch break? Why there's no bell? Oh! I have to write it down so I won't forget-"

"Miss Tendo, do I bore you?" the sensei asked the emotionally unstable Akane.

"Wha-" Akane dumbly replied, her mouth was still open.

"You have been mumbling in your seat with goofy eyes and it's like you're not here in the class. Do you want to share what you have been mumbling? I was looking at you the whole time because your attention was not here," the teacher patiently explained.

Every one in the class looked at her direction, even the unfocused Yuka and Hiroshi. Akane felt that it's not only Ranma's gaze stabbing her at the back but all of her other classmates. Her cheeks reddened at the sudden embarrassment. She cupped her cheeks when she felt that those were burning. She started to panic and felt not breathing again. "I-I was just thinking. I'm sorry, sensei. It's just that… I-I," she tried to explain with her head bowed.

"Are you okay, Akane?" Ukyo asked from her right side, few seats from her.

Akane automatically looked at Ukyo's direction. She didn't respond but just stare at the chef's face. Though Ukyo was considered as her rival at Ranma's affection, she knew that they still treated each other as friends, and maybe Shampoo too. Akane saw that Ukyo was somehow worried about her 'little show.' She wanted to look at Ranma to check if he's worried too, more than Ukyo or her other friends. She just forcibly shut her eyes again and wiped the incoming tears. She then heard it again, _'who would've wanted to kiss a klutz, uncute, and sexless tomboy/!' _Akane clasped her hands unto her ears as if those words banging in her head. She felt it echoed in her mind and endlessly repeating.

"Akane-chan, are you okay?"

"Hey Akane! Akane?"

"Akane-chan?"

"Miss Tendo? Are you okay?" the teacher inquired as he saw Akane pale face and trembling hands.

"I-I don't think so-" Akane responded as she felt dizzy then her vision became from blurred to dark. She tried to look at Ranma's direction but did not have the chance. And that was the last thing she remembered.

"Move away! Akaneeeeeeeee!"

**To be continued…**

Yeah! Ranma did a lot screaming in this story. Anyway, he does that in the manga and anime, right? So might as well do it in fanfic har har har!

Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8 The Maiden

Here's another chapter. I don't know when will this story ends because ideas keep on coming. Well, don't worry everything has to end and I'll hate myself if the readers get bored reading my story. So few more chapters, guys.

Enjoy reading!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½.

Chapter 8 The Maiden

"Uhhhh…" was what Akane first said when she woke up. She blinked few times before she realized that she was in the school clinic. Her sight was still a bit fuzzy but she tried to focus to look for a clock. She couldn't explain it but the first thing she wanted to look for was a clock. She unconsciously prayed that it's not yet lunch time because that was her dead line and she hadn't have any gimmick to replace the Kissing Booth Maiden idea and that only meant one thing: she'll have to accept it. Her eyes laid on the snoring guy in her left side. He was sleeping, mouth partially opened and small snores could hear from him. He was resting in a couch near the bed, his feet were also resting above a small table and his head was slightly turned to his right, facing Akane.

The short-haired girl stared at her fiancé. He was soundly asleep and seemed like he didn't care what was happening in his surrounding. Akane eyes softened at the sight of Ranma. She was touched that he stayed in her side to make sure she's okay. Or was he? He looked very tired as it was showed some darkening under his eyes. She thought that he didn't get some sleep like she did, but she was crying. '_Maybe he just stayed here so he can sleep freely…,_' she silently said and was saddened as she felt more insecure.

As Akane's eyes started to get blurry again because of incoming tears, her sight focused on a table clock in the nurse's station. She focused her eyes on it and horribly read that it was less than 5 minutes before the lunch break. "Shit!" she forcibly sat up as she realized that her deadline was over and she hadn't had any thing to offer for the School Festival. "Ouch!" she then held her head as she felt pang of pain in her sudden action.

"Huh? What? What happened?" Ranma automatically got up from his seat in his fighting stance as he heard Akane gasped. They were now few feet from each other and staring at each others' eyes. He felt like he was drowning at Akane's brown orbs but could feel the emptiness in those eyes. He stiffened then turned his head, afraid to totally lose himself from his fiancée's gaze. He couldn't bear that stare from Akane, the same stare that she gave to him last night: those chocolate eyes with sadness, hurt and betrayal. He cleared his throat but was still thinking of what he would say to his fiancée. Both teens were silent, heads bowed and seemed no one wanted to say anything. He put his hand at the back of his head and scratched it clumsily. _'Say something, damn it!_' he thought.

"Thank you for staying, Ranma," Akane broke the silence first. She tried to look at his eyes but she was so scared to look at it and she didn't know why.

"No problem," he replied.

Silence.

"What happened?" Akane asked the still silent Ranma.

"You-You fainted. Sensei was asking you, or I should say interrogating you and then there were a lot shouting then you went pale then fainted. It's a good thing you didn't hit the floor. I mean, I-I caught you before you hit the floor," he shyly explained while scratching his red cheek.

"Oh…," she dumbly replied then bowed here head. She remembered that she tried to look at Ranma's direction but she wasn't able to do so as everything went blank. She touched her forehead to check if she had fever but felt that her temperature was normal. The interrogation from their sensei and questioning looks from their classmates plus her lack of sleep, head ache and heart ache… the pressure was the reason she fainted.

Silence again.

"I-I think I should fix myself now. I still have something to do. And you should also go-"

"Are you okay now?" Ranma cut her off. He couldn't think of anything but that.

"I think so. Never mind that, I still have something to do-"

"Please stay for a while, Akane!" he demanded which made the girl startled. "I-I mean, I don't think your sleep was enough. You need more rest and you need to stay here until the class ends," he continued. "You didn't sleep well last night so… I mean, you are still sleepy, aren't you? So sleep more!" he finished but felt exhausted.

'_It seems that he really hadn't had a good night sleep also,_' Akane thought. "No, I think I'm fine now. And we have a lot of things to do; we haven't finished cutting the colored papers for the decorations," she explained. She had no intention of informing Ranma about the Kissing Booth Maiden. She knew that Ranma had no idea that she was chosen to be the maiden, he was sleeping when their sensei discussed about the School Festival. The whole time it was discussed, he was sound asleep at his seat and the sensei didn't mind at all since he would not be any help. The class had voted her but she didn't agree yet because she was hoping that Ranma would wake up and disapprove the idea of making her the maiden. She was hopeful that Ranma would stand up and would scream his disagreement like he usually did when someone wanted to take her away from him. But he didn't wake up. The plan finished without seeing any flinched from her fiancé.

And now, this was her last chance to decide. Ranma was in front of her, saying nothing, even after the last night incident. She painfully accepted the fact that he wouldn't do anything against the booth's theme. Pain and hurt were written all over her face but she forced not to cry, again. She thought that she already drained her tears last night but still felt that tears were about to flood her cheeks. He couldn't see it as his head was bowed. And she had no plan of showing her face to him because she was scared what he might say something again that would hurt her. Akane bowed her head also and discreetly brushed her fingers unto her cheeks to remove the tears.

She cursed the silence that surrounded them both. The silence would make her sniffs and sobs easier to hear. The school nurse was not there, so it was just her and her fiancé. She forced not to speak as her voice would show her emotions more. She fixed her school blouse and was about to get up.

"I-I'm sorry, Akane," he whispered.

Although Akane expected Ranma to apologize, she was still surprised that it took him this long to say his sorry. She could feel his emotions from just saying his apology. She stopped her plan of getting off of the bed and looked at her fiancé. He was still not looking at her, head bowed and both fists were clenched at his sides. His eyes were then casted at the flowers in the vase, neatly placed at the top of the small cabinet beside the bed. She also looked at the flowers, searching for anything interesting on the site. There's nothing special on it aside from it was a plain looking vase and white lilies. She turned her sight back to her fiancé and she caught him staring at her. Their eyes met. Ocean orbs versus the chocolate ones. No one wanted to break the staring contest. Both were trying to read each others' minds just from staring.

Ranma saw what he scared to see in her eyes: hurt, pain and betrayal. It hurt him to see that from her and he was more hurt that he was the one who caused that to her. "Please forgive me, Akane," he unconsciously whispered upon drowning from Akane's eyes.

Akane was startled again of Ranma's words. He never used the word 'forgive' when he apologized. He just used the word 'sorry' then everything backed to normal. That was how plain they were when they fought and made up. She liked it. It sounded more sincere and more affectionate. It seemed like he really cared for her and he really felt bad of what he did. "I-I… It's-"

Groaaaaaak!

Ranma turned into a scarlet face as his stomach growled. "Shit!" he hissed under his breath. He was really cursed, he thought. Does his stomach have to be this uncooperative in time like this? He remembered that he was not able to eat dinner because of the incident and he didn't touch his breakfast because of the same reason and lastly, he forgot his bento and forgot to eat lunch because he decided to stay at the clinic for Akane. He forgot that his stomach needed food or something to digest or it would end up grinding his intestines.

"I think you have to pay attention on your stomach before it eats your other organs," Akane commented trying to hide her giggle.

Ranma felt relieved at the sight, Akane's smiling again, to him. He last saw that yesterday but that was berfore the said incident. He even thought that he wouldn't see it again. He also smiled at her and scratched his head shyly. He grinned ear to ear but was disappointed because his damn stomach ruined their 'moment.'

Silence again. The genuine smiles started to fade from their faces. It somehow didn't erase the fact that Ranma hurt Akane, and both were still suffering from the pain.

"Akane, about last night-"

"Akane-chan!"

Both teens looked at door as it burst open and revealed their class president with their other classmates who were organizing their booth.

"Akane-chan? Are you okay now? How do you feel? Do you hurt something?" the class president asked. "You can't afford to be sick in time like this, Akane-chan. And we can't afford to lose you within the next few days, you know what I mean," she finished then put the back of her hand at Akane's forehead. "Good! You don't have fever and seems that your color back to normal," she continued. "Well, what I really mean is… what's your plan?" she raised her brows then looked directly at Akane's eyes.

Akane stiffened at the questioned and went pale again. This worried Ranma. "Hey! What do you mean by that?" he snarled at their class president. He then looked at his fiancée, "are you okay, Akane?"

"Yeah, I'm good," Akane lazily replied to Ranma. She then looked at their class president. She bowed her head, "I'm sorry, but I haven't any idea to replace the Kissing Booth Maiden, and please, look for any one to replace me as the maiden," she said.

"That's unacceptable, Akane-chan. You promised to think of something but failed, so we have no choice but to continue and stick to the original plan. The class voted for you," the class president said and looked at Akane disappointedly. "The festival will be the day after tomorrow and we haven't created the booth design and haven't built the structure. And how can we raise the fund for the orphanage, take note Akane-chan, orphanage, if you will back out," she finished.

"But I didn't agree from the beginning," she opposed. "I never agreed to it."

"Yes, but I don't think that you also declined, am I right?"

The answer made Akane flinched from her position. She tried to recall if she never confirmed nor denied the offer. Her head ached again so she just sighed heavily. She started massaging her temples again and closed her eyes tightly.

CRACK!

"What the hell-" Ranma cursed.

Everyone coughed at the sudden smoke or ashes from the destroyed wall.

"What was that?" one of their classmates questioned while still coughing and clearing her vision.

"Please, not her," Ranma prayed. He already got into a lot of trouble and another encounter with 'her' would be more disaster.

"Nihao, Airen! You ready to date Shampoo now? Yes?" Shampoo lovingly asked Ranma.

"Damn it! Don't you know why doors were invented? Don't you know how to use it? Do you really have to destroy all the walls?" Ranma continuously asked the newly-arrived girl.

"Huh?" what the cat-girl just responded. Her purple eyes were instantly became bright when she remembered something. "Oh Airen, Shampoo heard Akane will be maiden to kiss guys of school. Airen won't participate because you don't want to kiss Kitchen-Destroyer. Airen said last night," she finished with playful smile in her lips.

Akane stiffened at the bold statement from Shampoo. She bowed her head again and looked at her lap with her clenched fists on it.

"Ah that might be the reason why Akane's not herself this morning," someone whispered.

"Yeah that's right. She mumbled a lot then she fainted," another one said.

"She got fluffy eyes when she arrived and she walked like she was floating, hmmm, that's the reason, that her engagement with Ranma was over," another one whispered.

"Maybe, they broke the engagement and this hussy is now Ranma's new girlfriend or fiancée,"

"Is something wrong with Akane? Why did Ranma don't like to kiss her? She's every male's dream, tsk!" another one said.

The whispers from their classmates made Ranma panic, but made Shampoo smirked as she saw Akane clenching her fists and trembling.

"Hey! Shut up! Stop gossiping!" the class president growled. "That girl is not a student here and her business is with Ranma-kun, so let's just stay out of it."

Their classmates stopped whispering then looked worriedly at Akane.

Akane sighed heavily then swallowed. She wiped her face with her both palms then smiled at them. "Okay, I accept! I'll be the maiden of the Kissing Booth!"

"Yes!" the organizers said in unison.

"Problem solved! Let's continue the decorations! Thank you Akane-chan and don't get sick. Rest well," the class president chirped at Akane. "And you Ranma, stop pestering Akane. She can't get her rest if you and your new fiancée are around," she pointed at Ranma. "I'll ask Yuka and Sayuri to take care of her while she's resting here and will just ask our senseis to excuse them. You can leave now. Bye Akane-chan!" then the team disappeared from their view.

Ranma still couldn't believe what he had heard. His mouth was still open and he couldn't say a thing. His fiancée just accepted to be the Kissing Booth Maiden, meaning, she accepted to be kissed by any hungry male students of Furinkan High, as long as they have the tickets. He tried to look at her eyes but she kept her head low then started to get up. He was too surprised that he couldn't do anything. He just let her get up and to be left in the clinic with Shampoo clinging in his arm.

"I'm totally screwed…," he surrendered.

To be continued…


	9. Chapter 9 Tickets

Another boring shift, so another chapter was created eheheheheh… Enjoy reading!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½.

Chapter 9 Tickets

"Ranma, Shampoo, could you please leave now, I want to rest now. Yuka and Sayuri will be here in a minute, so I'll be fine," Akane said, her head still bowed and her eyes still looking at her closed hands resting in her lap. She did not want to raise her head because Ranma will see how depressed she was and this will make Shampoo happier than she already was right then. "Please leave," she pleaded then went back to bed. She turned her back to the couple.

"A-Akane…? I-I" Ranma started; unfortunately he couldn't continue what he wanted to say as Shampoo dragged her to leave the clinic. "Wait! Get off me! Hey!" he protested but the strong grip of the Amazon left him no choice but to follow outside.

Akane silently cried in the clinic bed. Why does this have to happen? He'll make her mad, she'll cry, he'll apologize, she'll forgive him and then he'll make her mad or hurt her again. It had been like this and she felt tired of the repetitive and complicated situation they're into. She sighed then swallowed hard. Then she remembered again the incident last night, how he denied her, how he betrayed her. He tried to kiss her but why all of a sudden he disgusted her for a simple kiss. They had kissed twice; the first was an accident when he was in nekoken and she didn't even feel anything but shock because it was sudden and his feelings towards Ranma then was not that deep compared to her current love for the martial artist. The second kiss was just a damp kiss and a tape was securely plastered in his lips. There was spark and a little warmth but she still didn't want to consider it as their kiss.

_'Does he hate that much?' _she thought just like when they were doing the Romeo and Juliet play. She was confused by his answer that it was harder. She felt like she was in deep despair again like last night. _'He's so indecisive and why he couldn't just say no especially to Shampoo? Didn't it occur to him that I'm so jealous and insecure right now?' _she silently sobbed.

"Hello, Akane!" Yuka greeted her from the door as she and Sayuri burst from it. But Akane didn't even turn to face them nor respond. She just laid there and silently let her tears wet her cheeks and the bed sheet.

"Hey! Do you really have to be that enthusiastic?" Sayuri whispered to Yuka. "She just had ended her engagement with Ranma, so at least, we need to be sympathetic, right?"

"But she'll be more depressed if we will show sadness. I think it's better to show enthusiasm. Ranma is a jerk so it's like she's free from him!" Yuka whispered back to the other girl.

"How about we just pretend that we don't know anything and let Akane have her space and let her tell for herself. That problem will weigh a lot so she would think that it would be better to share it with her friends, and those are us. What do you think?"

"That'll be a great idea, Sayuri. But Akane was not that sensitive, I mean, she rarely speaks about her relationship to Ranma. She doesn't talk a lot regarding her feelings towards that two-timer fiancé of hers. I don't even remember her admitting her feelings. Oh! This is more complicated than I though!" Yuka exasperated.

Unknown to the two girls, Akane was not asleep and she could hear them. It was barely heard but enough for her to understand what they were talking about. She was touched that her closest friends, Yuka and Sayuri, were worried about her and they thought of her welfare. She felt bad for Ranma, though it was really his fault. She wiped her tears using the mattress then slowly got up. She was still facing her back from the two.

"Oh! Akane y-you're up! Have you rested well?" Sayuri nervously asked Akane. She was afraid that the broken-hearted friend heard them.

"Class president and Sensei asked us to take care of you until you rested well or until you are okay. How do you feel?" Yuka inquired.

"I'm quite okay now. I think I have rested well," she replied looking over her shoulder. She then faced her two friends but didn't look them in the eyes. Her eyes were casted low then she slowly got off from the bed.

"Hey Akane! Why are you getting up? You need to rest more."

"But I'm okay now. I'm just hungry. I didn't take my breakfast then I haven't take my lunch. Have you two taken yours?" Akane tried to smile but it was not showing in her eyes.

"Uhm, yeah, we have. But if you like, we can accompany you in the school bench or canteen. Then we can go back to the classroom to finish the decorations, right?" Yuka said trying to lighten up the mood.

"That's great! I would love a company. Let me just fix myself and the bed," Akane replied, still trying to be cheerful. She turned her back again to fold the mattress and the bed sheet. While fixing the bed, she couldn't help but to think. Ranma would be in the classroom once they got back there. She haven't thought of what to say to him or how to act in front of him. I would be painful again. She left early to avoid him knowing that they would still meet in school. Then bad turn into good when he apologized but it turned worse when Shampoo showed up and he didn't stand for her. He was just like the stupid Ranma who couldn't decide, who were very insensitive towards her feelings. She huffed. "Girls shall we?" she said as she faced her friends.

"Let's go!" they answered in unison.

"Hey girls!" another person burst into the door which startled the three girls.

"You bastard, Daisuke! Are you trying to kill us? We almost got killed with heart attack!" Sayuri yelled at their classmate. "What's the matter with you? What's with that running and bursting thing?"

"Oh! I'm sorry! Hehehehe!" he said, laughing but was still panting. "I just carried away! The tickets! Our tickets!"

"What's with the tickets?" Yuka excitedly asked.

"The tickets from our booth!" he cheerfully said, with wide smile plastered in his face.

"Stop hanging us in the midair! What's with our booth tickets?" Sayuri impatiently asked. She already had her arms crossed over to her chest.

"Yeah, Daisuke, what's with the tickets?" Akane asked softly. She still felt that her energy haven't returned yet. She lost her interest on everything but just for the sake of it, she had to ask Daisuke and get the answer or both of her friends died excitedly.

"The Kissing Booth tickets… are sold out!" Daisuke happily announced. "Isn't great? We don't have to loiter around the school to ask every student to buy or visit. It had been sold out since last week and they just didn't announce it sooner because they decided to issue more or add more tickets. And the best part of it, those were also sold out!" he finished.

"Oh! That was great! We would also get additional grade from sensei!"

"And we are all exempted to one of her coming quizzes! Yay!"

The three stopped their own celebration when they saw Akane. She was in deep thought but wore a fake smile when she realized that the three stopped blubbering and sadly looked at her.

"Hey guys, that's great! We'll also be able to help the orphanage with it right?" Akane just plainly said.

"Ah Akane, I'm not into gossiping things but I heard about you and Ranma," he started. "It was all so sudden, it just happened a while ago but it already spread across the school, and… and… that Chinese girl had been clinging to Ranma all over the school. Ranma is my friend but I don't think that what he had done was right, you know what I mean… and I'm sorry," he finished with his head bowed.

The picture of clinging Shampoo slapped across Akane's face and it hurt her more that they walked all over the school. What did it lead her? A loser. The very popular Akane was dumped by her fiancé and that he disgusted and not even wanted her kiss. She looked at her friends and she could feel that they pitied her. "It's okay guys. We can't avoid the inevitable. If we're not meant to be together then we're not," she curtly said. Hurt was written all over her face and she hated it; she didn't want that. She tried to calm herself and show that she's okay but she couldn't as tears flowed.

"Akane…?" the girls came closer to her. "It'll be alright,"

"Yeah, I know," she breathed. "Let's go to the classroom, Everyone must be waiting for us and we have a booth to run and a fund to raise," she said with fake smile and enthusiasm.

The three just nodded then headed to their classroom with Akane.

To be continued...

Thank you for reading!


	10. Chapter 10 Plan A

Here's the other update guys! Thanks for the review, highly appreciated…! Enjoy reading!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½.

Chapter 10 Plan A

In the school ground, Ranma could see that everyone was busy preparing for the School Festival. He heard that each class needed to raise fund and each class was assigned to run a specific gimmick. He, unfortunately, heard that their class' tickets were sold out; therefore, all those bastards who bought tickets for Kissing Booth would be kissing Akane. "Damn it!" he hissed under his breath. The worst part of all, Tatewaki Kuno was one of the highest buyers of tickets.

"Airen is thinking deep. Where we go for date?" Shampoo said, still clinging in his arm.

Ranma flinched at the sudden outburst of Shampoo. He forgot that the Amazon was with him, and he even forgot that she has been clinging in his arms since they left the clinic. _'Oh yeah, she's still her,_' he dumbly thought. _'I might really be in deep thought that I even forgot about Shampoo' _

He ignored the voluptuous girl beside him then went back into deep thought. First, he had to apologize to Akane, again. His problem was how. He just apologized then screwed up again. He didn't know why he didn't react as fast as he could to defend Akane. He felt useless and unworthy. Second, what kind of apology? He didn't know. He already poured his heart unto his last and she forgave him. Third, he had to make sure that no one will lay their lips to his fiancée, as in no one. The problem was, she agreed to be the maiden and the tickets were sold out plus they were sponsoring an orphanage. Fourth, if he couldn't apologize properly, he had to do something for her to forgive him and he had no idea what would that be. Fifth, he had to think something to make sure that the third one would be successful, or else.

"Gyaaaaaaah!" Ranma screamed. He pulled his hair and panted heavily. Just thinking of what he should do made his head ached and made him crazier. He had to think fast. The decorations and plans should finish today, and then tomorrow would be the preparation and finishing of the decorations and booths. He's not a planner. He acted impromptu. He's desperate, really desperate.

"Waaaah! Airen? Why you shout?" Shampoo questioned the exhausted Ranma beside her.

Ranma continued to ignore the confused girl. "Think! Think! Think! Think damn it! Think!" he said to himself which he mentioned like a mantra. He then remembered his dream, his nightmare. The line of men waiting to kissed and be kissed by Akane. The endless line, the hungry males on it, and the very willing Akane instantly popped in his head. He clenched his fists then tightly shut his eyes. He didn't want that nightmare turned into reality. God forgive him, but he might end up murdering those grinning and drooling bastards.

"At last, Akane Tendo's lips and body will be mine! I forbid others to lay their lips to my beloved maiden, because I, Tatewaki Kuno, will be her savior from that sorcerer Ranma Saotome!" the Blue Thunder announced to no one in particular. His voice made Ranma looked at his direction and grimaced.

He remembered how Kuno drooled and lustfully looked at Akane in his dream. His spine trembled at the thought of it. "There's no way I would let that happen!" he hissed.

"Oh, so the villain Ranma Saotome is here, with… hmmmm… with a girl. I know that you are never been good enough for Akane Tendo and I, Tatewaki Kuno, will release her from you!" he pointed his wooden sword at Ranma's direction upon seeing him with Shampoo.

"Shut the hell up!" he didn't know why, but he became instantly furious with Kuno's comment.

"Well, my beloved Akane Tendo will wake up from your spell once she tasted my lips. I think these are enough," he said ignoring Ranma's rant and showing off the tickets he bought for the Kissing Booth.

Ranma glared at the handful of tickets. "You gonna be fucking kidding me?" And there were a lot of tickets.

"Damn that Kuno! He almost bought of all the tickets!" one of the male student said while watching the noisy Kuno.

"Hmpf! I was not able to buy at least one ticket!" another student said

Hah! It's a good thing I bought few before it was sold out," another male proudly said.

"You lying bastard! You said that you didn't buy!" retorted by his buddy.

"So what?"

"Spare some!"

"No!" then a fight started.

One male student smirked at the sight. "Why are you smiling?" his girlfriend asked.

"Hehehehe! Losers. At least I bought two tickets for Kissing Booth! Ooooops!" he then slapped his hand to his mouth.

"You asshole!" his girlfriend said then smacked him. Another fight started

Ranma confusedly looked around and saw that some students were fighting and he didn't know why and how it started. "What the hell?" All he wanted was to snatch the tickets form the hands of the laughing Kuno and kick his ass across the globe.

"Now, before I capture Akane Tendo's lips, I have to eliminate you!" Kuno declared then surprisingly attacked Ranma.

Ranma tried to avoid the wooden sword. He's not looking for a fight and if ever he did, Kuno was not included in his option. Shampoo lost her grip to Ranma's arms as Kuno continued attacking her airen. They were no where to find. The Amazon searched for Ranma but decided to do it later as she had to deliver the noodles left in her bike. She left Furinkan High, for a meantime.

Ranma ran from Kuno's sword. He wanted to escape from his crazy antics and wanted to think for solutions in his problems. He lost his focus and did not notice a rotten pipe. He accidentally stepped on the pipe then a fountain of water covered his whole body. As he ran more, the then Ranma became Ranko.

"Just great! Really, really great!" Ranko-chan hissed still running away from Kuno.

"Oh my pig-tailed goddess!" Ranko heard behind her. She realized that Kuno would be more persistent as he saw the female Ranma. "It's a good thing that the wrench Saotome decided to release you and be in my arms!" Kuno maniacally declared.

"Gyaaaaaaah!" Ranko-chan screamed out of frustration. She didn't notice a small branch and she was tripped.

THUD!

"Oh my pig-tailed goddess, I am here now. You don't have to be scared and ran away from Saotome. I'm here to save you, my love," Kuno lovingly said to Ranko-chan who was still sitting in the ground. "Now let me give you a kiss from the bottom of my heart. I don't think that my other beloved, Akane Tendo would mind since I bought a lot of tickets for her to taste my luscious lips," he finished as he slowly reached for her.

Ranko-chan was so disgusted of how stupid and crazy Kuno was. She grimaced then was about to get up.

TING!

"Right! Yeah!" Ranko-chan absently said. "That's a good plan, but…" she murmured. She hesitated for a while but made up her mind. "Yeah! I don't care anymore!"

"What did you say, my love?

"I said, get out of my face, asshole!" she yelled then kicked Kuno and sent him across Nerima.

Ranko-chan ran to their classroom as she came up with an idea. She excitedly hopped then dashed into the classroom. She thought that Akane might still be in the clinic resting. She burst into the classroom door.

"Guys, I've got an idea!" Ranko-chan chirped excitedly and was still panting. Everyone in the class looked at her direction with confusion. "Let me be the Kissing Booth Maiden!" she declared without hesitation. "Spare Akane, I would do it instead!"

Silence.

"Man! Everybody knows you, Ranma. Everyone knows about your curse and I think the ticket holders will ask for refund if we make you the maiden," the class president said.

Ranko-chan was dumbfounded. She remembered the tournament and that was the time that her curse was revealed. Only the Kunos didn't know or didn't realize it.

"Here, Ranko-chan," Daisuke approached her then poured hot water he got from nowhere. "It has been decided and Akane-chan agreed."

"Yeah man. Even though you're pretty in your girl form, I don't think I still want to kiss you, knowing that you're still Ranma Saotome!" Hiroshi spat.

The red hair became black mane. "You're right," he mumbled.

"Baka," Akane whispered then snorted and continued to cut the colored papers. She was little touched that Ranma or Ranko-chan wanted to replace her. But she was still confused why he decided to do so. '_What is he planning to do now? Hmpf! As if I care,_' she sadly thought.

"Ok fine!' he exasperated. "I'll get out of here!" he then left.

"Hey! Aren't you going to help us?" the class president shouted at Ranma but didn't receive any response from the martial artist. "Lazy as usual."

Ranma went to the rooftop then tried to think for another plan. He realized his stupidity by replacing Akane. He could think more if he's up there and he needed to think fast and effective to win Akane back and to stop her from kissing those hungry wolves. "Damn it! Then I have to do the Plan B! Unfortunately, I don't have Plan B! Grrrrr! This is really annoying!" he pulled his hair and he felt that he was about to lose his sanity. "Plan B. Plan B. Plan B!" he shouted.

To be continued…

Thanks for reading and reviews!


	11. Chapter 11 Plan B

Guys, here's another update! Enjoy reading!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½.

Chapter 11 Plan B

"Plan B!" Ranma shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Tsk! You really are annoying when your stupidity strikes, Saotome," Nabiki coldly said, appearing from the rooftop door. "You are easy to read and never know the word discreet."

"What that supposed to mean? You always read people!" Ranma snarled at her future sister-in-law. He really hated her conniving and calculating attitude. If Nabiki said that he was easy to read, then she was the complete opposite of it. All he knew about her was her love for money and 'underground businesses.'

"Out of desperation, you even plan to replace Akane, forgetting that your curse was already known, except from the crazy Kuno siblings. So what now? What would you do now, huh, Saotome?" Nabiki asked, raising one of her eyebrows with smirk plastered in her lips.

"…"

"Actually it is really hard to think of a good plan especially if you are not practiced to do so-"

"What the hell, Nabiki?" Ranma cut what Nabiki was saying.

"I told you, no one cuts me off when I'm speaking and live to tell about it," she threatened but Ranma just ignored her. He was too engrossed to even care about her threats. "As I was saying, you are careless and too care-free to even bother to think, like how you fight. Yeah you practice your katas every morning but when it comes to the actual fight you don't plan, you just do it. But now, your care-free attitude no longer be a help. Your Plan A is a complete stupidity. So what's your Plan B?" she finished.

"I-I am still on it. And why the hell you're here and giving me those long explanations?" Ranma retorted.

"Akane is my sister. It bothers me to hear her sobs after your fight!"

Ranma stiffened of what the middle Tendo said. He didn't know that Nabiki would be that of a sister especially if that wouldn't earn her any money. He stared at her and saw anger but still had the undeniable coldness and hostility. He turned his sight to the school ground. He saw how busy the Furinkan students were. Every one was chatting about the decorations and their booth's theme, cutting colored papers, hanging long cut outs, and every one seemed to be happy and excited. He sighed heavily.

"I think I am the only one who's not excited with this School Festival crap!" he muttered.

"So is Akane. You know her, Ranma. You know that she will just do that out of duties. She is the chosen maiden and she wants to raise the fund though she doesn't want to be kissed by the male population of Furinkan. You pushed her to do it. This incident just answers your question," she said, sarcasm was still evident in each word.

"Wha-? What q-question?" he confusedly asked, scowl already appearing in his face. Nabiki really did a good job of messing his already messy head.

"Last night, stupid,"

"Y-yeah," he dumbly muttered. Once the infamous question popped in his mouth last night, he already knew the answer: every one. Every one wanted to kiss Akane, his fiancée. Even before he came to Nerima, almost every guy in the school wanted to date her, much more kiss her. Though the morning fights lessen, it didn't cease the fact that Akane was the school's ultimate crush. Every guy desired her. Of course! Who would've not liked a very pretty girl like Akane? Full of passion, determination, strong, kind hearted, selfless, beautiful, generous-

"Snap out of it, asshole!" Ranma's thoughts were interrupted by Nabiki's retort. "Stop daydreaming in front of me, you are creeping the hell out of me!"

"Wha-"

"I said stop daydreaming! Geez! You and Akane are very much alike! You both look stupid when you daydream!"

"I don't day dream!" he denied.

"Yeah, yeah and I disgust money," Nabiki sarcastically said.

"No you don't!"

"I am being sarcastic, moron!" Nabiki started to get irritated. Ranma annoyed him when he was clueless. "You giving me a headache, geez!" she said while massaging the bridge of her nose while the other hand was on her hip. "Does love really make people stupid? I mean most stupid, ever?"

"I don't love Akane!" he yelled.

"Hey hey! I didn't say that you are in love and I didn't mention Akane's name!"

Ranma paled at his sudden outburst. "Damn it!" he hissed. Nabiki really knew how to catch him in his most vulnerable state. Well, even when he's not vulnerable, she could still get him anytime she wanted. Or was he really that obvious and stupid?

Nabiki smirked, crossing her forearms in front of her chest and leaning, putting her weight in her side while tapping her foot. "Classes are about to end and the school did not permit to extend the class hours for the booths' decorations because there is still a day to finish it," she said while looking at the late afternoon sun. "It also means that you still have the whole night and whole day tomorrow to come up with a plan, as what you said, your Plan B."

Ranma looked at Nabiki's direction. He knew that she was interested to know what his plan would be, it's either she cared for Akane or she wanted to benefit from it. Moreover, he knew deep inside Nabiki's cold and hard exterior and her conniving activities, she still cared for her family. It showed on how mad she was when she confronted him last night, after breakfast and now.

"I am still thinking for Plan B, and also Plan C, up to Plan Z" he confidently said.

"Really…? Confident are we, Saotome?" the middle Tendo said, not leaving her eyes to his future brother-in-law and one of her 'money-maker' specimens. "Tsk! I know that you're not planning to share it with me. The mighty Ranma Saotome still wants to be the hero after being the villain first and making Akane-chan cry. Well, you have to do this right because I don't want to hear loud sobs from Akane's room and loud rants from you two," she seriously said while staring at Ranma.

"…"

"That's a good practice, Ranma."

"What-"

"You lessen the use of your foul mouth, hence, less hurtful words, less denials,'' Nabiki stated. "As saying goes, you hurt the person you love most."

"I don't love Akane!" he snarled.

"Did I mention yours or Akane's name?" she smirked. "You've never learned, stupid! Falling on the same grave, tsk! Stop denying the already obvious. You're not just hurting yourself, you are also hurting the person you denied," she became serious again.

"I-"

"Hey! Are you going to say the same thing? Geez!"

Ranma shut his mouth then looked at Nabiki. He saw how serious she was; her wisdom and frankness really were something.

"I was about to say that it's not my intention to hurt Akane and I am planning to make it up to her. I still don't like the idea of her being the maiden of that stupid booth. There are other ways to sponsor the orphanage without disrespecting her. She doesn't have to do it, that is if I will able to come up with some idea, the Plan B to Z," he explained trying to be optimistic.

"That's good to hear, Saotome," she answered. "Hmmmm… okay, okay, I will not squeeze you to tell me what your other plans are. I don't think that one of those would be as stupid as destroying your class's booth or worse, the whole School Festival-"

Nabiki halted what she was about to say when she felt Ranma stiffened and his face brighten as she mentioned her last sentence. She got scared of what might he had on his mind. Ranma was a martial artist and a very-skilled and strong one, so it would be very possible for him to accomplish it. She cursed under her breath as she saw one side of his lips arched upwards. She was speechless and couldn't say anything that might end up providing him more ideas which he badly needed.

"You're right…," he murmured. "That will do."

"Oi , Ranma! I was just kidding!" the ice queen was somehow a little disoriented. Now, she was the one who caught her self with her own words. Well, she's not that serious and it just so happen that Ranma was stupid and he was very, very desperate. "Y-You're not planning to do what I say, right?"

A wider smile appeared on the pig-tailed martial artist's face. That smile made Nabiki flinched in her position and made her nervous. She knew what Ranma was capable of. He's stupid but strong, so the execution of the said stupid plan was just an inch away from their noses. He then looked around, staring at a specific area in the school ground and then to another. Nabiki saw how he scowled and how he looked and she had to do something to snap him out of his so-called 'Plan B.'

"You really are genius, Nabiki," he looked at her with that insanely smile in his face. His boyish charm showed on that smile but gave her goosebumps. "Let me see…," he murmured again after tuning his gaze back to the school ground with most of the Furinkan students roamed busily.

'_Uh-uh! He looks like a mad man now,"_she thought. "Hey, Saotome," she called him calmly, "how about you disguise as a different girl, not the red-haired Ranko-chan, then you replace Akane," she suggested. _'Accept it, damn it!' _she cursed in her thought.

"Nah, they'll still know it's me. And I hate to disgust myself with that knowing that most of the tickets were bought by that stupid Kuno," he answered, not looking at Nabiki's direction but to the school ground." He busied himself looking at the ground, seemed planning something unknown for the middle Tendo. "Plus, I already have the Plan B, haven't I?" he finished, looking at Nabiki with that scary smirk.

"But-"

"I owe you, Nabiki! Put it in my tab!" he said then jumped, instantly disappearing from Nabiki's sight.

"That will really go to your tab!" she answered back to no one. "Geez! This will be a disaster…", she sighed heavily then turned to the door.

Meanwhile...

"Come as early as you could," the class president told to the class. "The decorations are almost done and guys, please, come early. The guys will build the booth's structure first while the girls will finish the decoration. The skeleton should be finish before the lunch break then we'll do décor and spare at least an hour for the cleaning, got it?"

The class agreed in unison as the class president summarized the next day's plan. The cut-outs were neatly placed at the side which would be finished in the next day. The tent and lumbers for the booth were also placed at the corner.

Akane walked herself home and was still thinking of what had happened the whole day. She rubbed her temple at the thought of the incidents. She was so tired to think it all over in her head. Her body was exhausted because of the school activities and her mind was drained because of emotional distress she encountered from Ranma. Ranma. She smiled a little at the thought of their little encounter in the clinic. That was before the Amazon came and ruined everything again. Her fists clenched tightly at the thought of it. She already forgiven Ranma but got mad again after his indecisiveness. Is it hard to accept her? The insecurity ran through her again. She closed her eyes to stop from flowing another set of tears. She huffed and speed up her pace so she could home, bathe, then sleep.

Akane recalled how Ranma offered himself to replace her as the maiden. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of her fiancé accepting those kisses. Unfortunately for him, the school already knew his curse and he was declined. Then why did he decide to replace her? She hopelessly thought that it was something to do with him making up to her. But still, Ranma wouldn't disgrace himself to that point just for her. Or would he?

Another set of sighed came from her lips. Akane really couldn't understand him anymore. He was this, then he would be like that, then back to this, then to that… an endless cycle of their already complicated relationship.

"I'm home!" she shouted as she entered their house.

"Oh Akane-chan, welcome home!" Kasumi said as she welcomed Akane. She then looked at the youngest Tendo's back. "Where's Ranma-kun? And also Nabiki-chan?"

"Huh?" Akane turned to her back then faced her sister again. "Oh! I come home alone, Onee-chan. I think Nabiki still has something to do. I-I don't know about Ranma," she sadly replied.

She realized that the last time he saw Ranma was when he offered himself to replace her. It's not that she was avoiding him. She stayed at the classroom cutting those papers and her fiancé being the uncooperative one never came back after that. Then where was he? She shook her at the thought of him with Shampoo. That was possible though.

"I see. If you wanted to take a bath first, the ofuro is ready to use. You look exhausted Akane-chan. A warm bath will help you relax. Come on." The eldest Tendo took Akane's arms and guide her inside the house.

Meanwhile…

"Aren't you going to add a little?" Pause. "Don't you think that what I have done was not even a hundredth of it?" Smirk then another pause. "That would be better, Akira-san," then a pause. "Of course, of course! And was really nice doing business with you, thank you. Bye!"

Nabiki hung up her cellphone then scratch her forehead. She sighed then started to walk her way towards the Tendo house. _'That's two and would be enough. Saotome, your tab is already as thick as your face!' _she thought.

Ranma moved like a cat while walking at the school yard. The Furinkan High was already silent and it was already night. He used his long-time experience to sense his surroundings. He swiftly landed his feet at their classroom. There was enough light inside the classroom to see the unfinished decors. He looked around and found few heart-shaped cut-outs. He grabbed few of these and sternly looked at it. One of the heart-shaped cut-outs was not really heart shape. The edges were roughly cut. He knew that it was Akane's doing. She was not gifted to do girly stuffs and handicrafts, but she tried hard. She wanted to please everybody, and he hated it because that was the reason why she accepted the damn offer to be the maiden. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes.

"My lungs are now flat from sighing a lot, tsk!" he murmured then looked around the room. He realized that Akane might not like to be the maiden but he didn't want her to be disappointed of his actions, especially his current plan, the Plan B. "I still have until tomorrow. And I still have Plan C – Z. Nabiki, I do plan things, and you gonna help me with it!" he said to himself then moved outside the classroom. He hopped from roof to roof towards the Tendo house.

Plan B aborted.

To be continued….


	12. Chapter 12 Hostility

Sorry for a little late update. I already finished this chapter but forgot to post. I am done with my other fan fic and planning to end this story soon since I have new stories to come. Anyways, enjoy reading!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½.**

Chapter 12 Hostility

Ranma reached the Tendo Dojo with a goal, ultimate goal. He would ask Nabiki to help him and would pay or do anything to pay it back. He still had a day to stop Akane from being the maiden or to give a new idea for the class' booth but being as impatient as he was and lack of idea, Nabiki was his last chance.

"I'm home," he lazily said. He was so tired that even talking made him more tired.

"Welcome home, Ranma-kun!" Kasumi greeted the martial artist with her usual motherly smile. "The festival makes you and Akane-chan very busy. You both went home a little late. She was already home and relaxing at the bathroom. If you like, let's eat our dinner once Akane-chan finished her bath then after dinner you can take yours," she explained while guiding Ranma.

"Uhm, thanks Kasumi," he just said then turned to the dining area where the two older martial artist were waiting.

"No problem, Ranma-kun. Why don't you go to the dining area and tell our fathers that dinner will be served in a while. I'll prepare the dinner," Kasumi requested. She then turned around and called Ranma again. "And Ranma-kun, please call Akane from the bathroom. I bet she's also hungry and she shouldn't stay that long or she might catch a cold or something. Thank you."

Ranma was about to respond but Kasumi already ran to the kitchen. He huffed and sighed heavily. He was uncertain if he would go to the bathroom to call Akane or just let her realize to herself that it's already dinner time. He did the former. Ranma stepped slowly and thought of how he would talk to Akane. He thought that she accepted to be the maiden because she was mad. But, on the other part of his mind told him that she was just being Akane, the kind and selfless girl he knew. He just stopped thinking when he realized that he was already in front of the bathroom and facing the sliding door.

On the other hand, Akane was also in deep thought as she regretted why she accepted the role. Sure she was mad, again, because Shampoo showed up. Ranma already apologized and she was about to forgive him, unfortunately there were some instances that had to happen beyond their control. She was touched on how he stayed for her in the clinic and how worried he was. But as usual, she got mad at him because of Shampoo. It was really a complicated relationship between them, him, her indecisive and immature fiancé, then her, always jumping into conclusion and kicking his ass. She just felt bad when Shampoo arrived and insulted her and Ranma just stood there and didn't say anything which made her mad at him and decided to be the maiden out of nowhere.

"Now, what am I going to do?" she signed heavily then hugged both of her knees. Akane closed her eyes and felt the warmness of the bath. It was a very tiring day. Her body was not tired at all because all they did was to sit the whole day and cut those colored papers and she slept (or faint) in the clinic. It was her mind. She was emotionally and psychologically drained. This whole school festival fiasco made her exhausted plus her issue with Ranma and her insecurities towards his other fiancées.

After she accepted to be the maiden, she wanted to take it back as she saw Ranma's stunned face. But before that, he didn't do anything when Shampoo insulted her which caused her to accept it. So it was still all his fault after all, right? Even she couldn't answer her own question. She might be the immature one, not Ranma.

A knock from the door startled her.

"Uhm, Akane? It's dinner time. K-Kasumi asked me to call you here so… uhm, come out once you're done. She said not to, uhm, stay long there or you might get sick," a man's voice said on the other side of the door.

Akane was a little disappointed. It was thoughtful but the message wasn't come from him directly but, as he said it, it was from Kasumi. She just sighed and hugged her knees tighter. "Y-Yeah, I'll be out in a moment," she replied.

Silence. She knew that Ranma was still at the door since she didn't hear any footsteps. She could feel his aura at the other side of the room. Akane felt that she had to say something to him but couldn't find the words or didn't know what exactly what to say. She was also waiting for him to say anything.

"Uhm, A-Akane? A-About the booth…I mean about your role… I-I, uhm, do you really want to be the maiden? I mean we could've-"

"I am still uncertain about it!" she cut him off. She opened her eyes and looked at the closed door as if Ranma was standing inside the room. "It was an impulse. Maybe I really want to help those kids from orphanage," she lied. "And I think that, that your idea was funny."

"What idea?"

"When you said that you'll be the maiden instead," she chuckled. "You almost forgot that your curse was already known by everyone. Why did you do it?" Akane hopefully asked her fiancé. She forced another smile but nervous of what he would answer.

"Tsk! I-I wanted to… to…," he paused.

"To what, Ranma?"

"To help the kids," he replied. He bowed his head and closed his eyes.

"Oh! I see. Well, t-that's good. W-We have the same goal," she curtly said. The forced smile was no longer in her face. She couldn't smile even a force one. "Uhm, I'll be out in a minute so you could wait in the dining area. Thank you!" she stated then stood up. She weakly hopped from the tub and wiped the water forming in her eyes.

As Ranma heard the water splashed indicating that Akane was out of the tub, he turned his back from the door. "O-Okay! W-We'll be in the dining room. D-Don't take it long," he responded. He closed his eyes and felt guilty again. He knew that his lame excuse hurt her again. His hand stroke his messy hair and he sighed heavily. "Why can't I just say it?" he hissed under his breath.

"Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!"

The sound behind him made Ranma turned around. It was Nabiki and she was wearing her icy and unreadable face, again. He wanted to ask if she had heard everything and why the hell she was looking at him like that. She was smirking and her arms were crossed in her chest. "What?" he snapped.

"Nothing! I just think that you are pathetic, hypocrite, and stupid. Make it stupid in the nth power," she coolly replied.

"What do you want?" he defensively asked the middle Tendo who was still unmoved by his hostility.

"I think I should be the one who should ask that to you, ne Ranma-kun?" she said while one brow was raised with her famous smirk.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Nabiki," he retorted then went his way to the dining hall.

"You know where to find me, Ranma. If you think you're not that desperate, have it your way. Do your thing and ruin everything again like you always do. Let your pride and ego help you with these and let's see how it will turn out. But if you want a little in sight of it, I can give you that. Somehow, sometimes, I can be a fortune teller, you know. This has been going on too far so I am being generous here, as your future sister-in-law. If you keep on doing what you always do, be prepare as I am going to be your sister-in-law no more, but as your future wife. You know what I mean, right. The two old men there would not want to hand over this dojo to anyone but you. Blah, blah, blah! I had said too much and this might cost you," she paused and walked closer to Ranma and stared at him. "It's not yet too late, you know. Ta-ta!" she waved then left.

He was stoned in his position as Nabiki left. She was right. He needed her, her connections to resolve everything. He even decided to ask her when he left their classroom. "Damn," he murmured.

"Is everything okay there?" Akane asked from the bathroom. "Who was that? Is it Nabiki?"

"It was nothing, 'kane. Don't worry. I'll leave now. Come down for dinner."

"O-Okay."

To be continued...

Thank you for reading and review. I'll be updating this soon.


	13. Chapter 13 Plan C

Oh my! Another update and this story will end soon. Enjoy reading!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½.

Chapter 13 Plan C

Everyone was already in the table when Akane dug in. She was surprised that everyone was very quiet and somehow the atmosphere was tensed.

"Come and dig in, Akane-chan," Kasumi said.

"Thank you onee-chan!" she replied. Akane could fill the intensity. She looked at Nabiki and saw that she was started eating. As usual, Genma Saotome was devouring his food and her father was divinely eating, same with Kasumi. She wanted to look at her side to see Ranma but she was still hurt of what he did and she still did want to clear her mind and talking to her fiancé this soon would not be a very good idea.

"Honey, how was school? I heard that your School Festival will be on the next day, isn't?" Soun asked her youngest daughter.

"Everything's good, Dad. Every one was busy preparing and it would be very exciting day for all of the students," Akane replied and forced a smile. "Some of the classes prepared games and the school administration decided to sponsor some charities for a change," she added but decided not to share a lot of information to her father.

"That sounds good. What is your booth this year? Last year, you were assigned to the Marshall Booth. How about this year?"

"Your booth should use a lot of movements so that you could use martial arts and do some training there," Genma added with mouthful of rice in his mouth.

"Unfortunately, they're not going to use much of their muscles for their theme," Nabiki answered. She was smirking and glaring at the two stiffened teens in front of her. "They were assigned to run the Kissing Booth."

"Oh! How wonderful and romantic!" the eldest sister said clasping both of her hands. "I remember when we handled the booth in my senior year; it was a chaos but fun and very exciting."

"Yeah, this year's Kissing Booth is indeed very exciting," the middle Tendo stated with a little sarcasm. "It would be fun, a lot of fun, for sure chaotic and very profitable," she finished with meaningful look at the engaged couple.

Ranma and Akane blushed at Nabiki's comment. Both were with bowed head and ate silently.

"Oh, really? Is that so, Akane-chan, Ranma-kun?" Kasumi inquired innocently.

"I-I think so," Akane shortly replied. She continued eating as she didn't want to elaborate more regarding the booth and the festival since it might go to the her and Ranma's current situation.

"You know why the booth and the whole festival would be interesting, exciting and chaotic?" Nabiki's fake enthusiasm was somehow a little discreet in that statement. Her sudden question made the teens more stiffened and paler than they already were in the start of the conversation.

"Why is that so?" the three asked in unison.

"Uhm…," as Akane tried to answer for Nabiki but couldn't find a word to continue as her sister is wittier that her and way to brilliant for this kind of connivance.

"Because our beloved Akane-chan is the maiden of the booth!"

"Oh my!" Kasumi gasped.

Akane turned red at the announcement. She was still unease of the thought of kissing and accepting kiss from the guys of Furinkan. She regretted that she accepted the role but she couldn't back out as her pride said so, her devotion to the orphanage they're sponsoring and her current feeling towards her fiancé. She was still hurt, mad and angry at him.

"I-It's not w-what you think," Akane tried to protest but was taken aback as she saw Kasumi's happy face.

"That was very nice of you Akane-chan, to accept the role. It is also nice of you Ranma-kun for letting your fiancée do it," Kasumi proudly said to the blushing teens in front of her.

"Be proud of it, sweety. Your sister was also a maiden back then. I was mad and wanted to hide her somewhere just to stop her for doing it but it seemed that your sister was so determined to do it. Unlike you, she didn't have a fiancé, so it was okay for me," the head of the house explained.

Ranma flinched in his seat at Soun's explaination. He behaved very well at the dinner but his senses were still attentive as a cat and the last statement made his mind work again.

Akane and Nabiki was a little surprised. They somehow accepted the fact since Kasumi was very lovely even now.

"Oh Daddy, stop it. It was very embarrassing," Kasumi smiled. "Father is correct, Akane-chan. It was okay for me then since the guys in the school were very nice and kind, plus I was not engaged." She then turned to Ranma. "How about you, Ranma-kun? Is it really okay for you that your fiancée became the maiden?"

"I-I guess so. S-She agreed on it," he replied. He couldn't say no to Kasumi. Honestly, he would stark rage mad, he despised the idea and he didn't like all of it, at all.

"Akane was excited about it, sis. She feven ainted and spent half of the day in the clinic," Nabiki informed the family.

"What happened? Are you okay now? Do you still feel dizzy I'll call Doctor Tofu if needed," Kasumi continued to ask.

"I am okay now. No, Nabiki, I was not sooo excited about the maiden thing, thank you very much. I-I didn't sleep well last night and I didn't feel well but I am okay now," she sarcastically spat and looked at Nabiki's direction.

"That's great. You should go to bed early."

The dinner went well as the conversation regarding the 'maiden' talk but was still intense. Akane went to her room after helping Kasumi to do the dishes while Ranma went to the dojo for a little relaxation. He was still thinking about what to do. He wanted to ask Kasumi why she was excited being the maiden in her senior year, for him to at least understand Akane's situation before he destroyed the whole school because of her decision. Unfortunately, his ego kicked in. He still wanted to think something to stop her or the whole booth.

Ranma closed his eyes and relaxed his shoulder. He inhaled and exhaled to calm his senses. He then remembered his previous nightmare. His eyes snapped open and he shook his head to clear his mind. He was huffing and sighed heavily. He closed his eyes again and made his mind work. He had an idea but disregard about it as his last resort. He still had other plan.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Who is it?" Nabiki answered with a pencil in her mouth and a calculator in her hand.

"It's me," Ranma replied in small voice behind the door.

"What do you want?" she yelled.

"Don't shout and let me in. I'll explain to you once I'm in," he replied grinding his teeth and trying to emphasize to Nabiki that she had to lower her voice.

The door opened with a smirking Nabiki. She was leaning in the door frame and one brow up. "What?"

"Ssssshhhhh! Let me in!" he demanded.

Nabiki just turned around and Ranma followed. "Close the door," she commanded.

She faced Ranma. "Now, speak!" She didn't wait for him to sit down and calm his nervous spine.

Ranma sat without the room owner's permisson and exhaled. "I'm running out of plan, Nabiki," he seriously informed the cold Tendo girl in front of him.

"And so?"

"I-I need your help. I want to stop Akane to become the maiden b-but I think it's impossible and it seems that s-she still mad at me," he explained, his head bow and fists clenched in his lap.

"Who wouldn't? First, you tried to kiss her-," she was cut off when Ranma tried to stand up. "Hey! I am not yet done and you are the one who asks favor! So shut up and listen, moron!" she pointed the martial artist in his face. "Yes you do asshole! You tried to kiss her then deny it to one of your fiancées and now you didn't do anything when Shampoo insulted her in front of you!"

Ranma sat again in his place and bowed his head. It was then he realized why Akane accepted the offer in front of him. He was so slow at understanding the situation and now Akane made a drastic decision that would make him insane.

"I-I…"

"Now what? You wanted to stop her? As if you can!"

"If we can't stop her, then help me stop the whole booth!" he seriously said. "I don't care if I have to make the whole festival stop, as long as no one touches Akane!"

Nabiki was impressed at his declaration. She knew that Ranma didn't like Akane to be the maiden. He was the usual male, chauvinist, egoistic and territorial. It just so happened that it was Ranma and he was stupid and foul-mouthed bastard.

"Of course, you do know what kind of payment I will ask, ne?" she questioned the proud guy in front of her.

"Wha-?" Ranma realized that he was speaking with Nabiki and every moment cost and metered. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot," he exasperated and sat again.

"I will think of a plan and it will be in your tab."

"What's your plan and how can I pay you back?" he exhaustedly and nervously asked.

"Be patient, my dear brother-in-law. As for payment, you will pose for me for 6 months! Oooooh! It will be the best seller because I will be the one to pick your costume, Ranko-chan!"

"No way in hell!" he yelled. "I will let you take my pictures, but just candid! I don't want to pose or wear costumes!" he protested with her idea. It was already disgusting that he turned into a girl; it would be more disgusting to wear girly dress and pose sexy as a girl. He grimaced at the thought of it.

"Oh well, it's okay for me. I can still take your pictures without your permission and sell it, also Akane's and I am not her fiancé, so what's the deal?" she huffed and turned her back to Ranma. She seated in her bed and motioned as if she was about to sleep. "Could you please leave now Ranma-kun? I am sleepy," she sweetly asked the frustrated Ranma.

"Okay, okay! Fine! I'll do it! Just make sure that your plan will stop her to kiss and be kissed," he agreed out of desperation. "I will not be the villain this time, more of the hero I must say," he added. "So what's the plan?"

"I said don't be impatient! I already have plan but not yet furnished so wait for further instruction from me, got it?"

"The festival is on the next day! We don't have much time!"

"Hey! Who do you think you're talking to? Geez! I didn't know that you're _that_ desperate!" Nabiki retorted to the insane Ranma.

"I am not!"

"Yes you are and don't oppose, you moron! Of all people who ask favor, you are the most ingrate, most difficult and pain in the ass! Just accept the fact and shut the hell up!"

Ranma inhaled to calm himself. Nabiki was right. He was desperate and ingrate for opposing her as he was the one who asked for her connections and help. His silence was enough to tell her that he surrendered. "Okay! I'll wait for further instructions, as soon as possible," he intensely said.

"Very well. It was nice doing business with you again, Ranma-kun," Nabiki teasingly said.

Ranma just glared at her then turned around to leave. Before he left, he face Nabiki again and bowed his head as a sign of gratitude. He then closed the door and went to his room. Nabiki smiled and huffed.

On the other room, Akane tried her best to listen through her wall that she and Nabiki shared. She listened what the bickering was all about. She could hear Ranma's and Nabiki's voices but she couldn't understand a thing. She was about to sleep then when she first heard Ranma and got curious. When she heard Ranma left, she laid in her bed and tried to sleep.

"What's his up to?

To be continued….

Thanks!


	14. Chapter 14 Day Before

Here's another update. I'll be ending this story soon. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½.**

Chapter 14 Day Before

Ranma woke up with heavy eyes. After visiting Nabiki in her room last night and asking for help, he was still anxious. He was known for being independent and egoistic, it was still hard for him to ask help from anyone, especially to Nabiki, wherein he had to pay. He sighed as he remembered the mode of payment. Seductive poses. Tatewaki Kuno would be happy, as well as Happosai. "Damn it!" he hissed then scratched his messy lock.

Ranma got up then went directly to the bathroom. His mind was still occupied. He did ask Nabiki's help but was still uncertain. What were her ideas? What kind of stuff would she make him do? Would it stop Akane or the booth? Then what? He stared at himself in the mirror then sighed heavily before he washed his mouth. He was in the dining area when he realized that Akane was nowhere to find. Was she out to jog? Was she already in the school? Was she still sleeping?

"Where's Akane?" Ranma asked. He didn't even think that his question was more demanding.

Nabiki raised her brow then smirked. "Good morning to you too, Saotome," she sarcastically greeted. "It is very seldom you ask where Akane is during breakfast. You know, it is either she's out to jog, or she's already in school. You know for a fact that she goes to school early when she's mad at you. What do you think?"

Ranma was taken aback by Nabiki's retort. "I-I just want to know where she is. You can just say that you don't know, instead of talking nonsense," he replied.

"Oh, so I am nonsense now, Ranma-kun? Yes, I think so, And I am also stupid and desperate not able to think properly as my brain ceased to work out of jealousy and desperation. You're right. I am nonsense," Nabiki snapped back but still using her cold face.

"That's not what I meant! I just wonder where Akane is, that's all! You don't have to slap it to my face!"

"Geez, you don't have to bite me, Ranma. You just sound more desperate and pathetic," Nabiki said.

The three other people in the table just looked back and forth, from Nabiki to Ranma, then from Ranma to Nabiki.

Kasumi just cleared her throat for the two to stop the bickering. "Uhm, Ranma-kun, Akane-chan left early. She said that there are still lots of things to do. The festival would be tomorrow, right? Akane-chan must be really excited."

"Indeed, very excited, ne Ranma-kun?" Nabiki teased Ranma which made him more desperate and mad.

"Tch!"

"Son, are you really okay with the idea of Akane-chan being the maiden?" Genma said while stuffing the food in his mouth.

"Yeah, Ranma. Kasumi here accepted it before, but I didn't engage her to anyone and she didn't have any boyfriend or fiancé that time so we were okay with it. How about you?" Soun added while peeking from his newspaper.

"He's a very cooperative and understanding fiancé. Not to mention, he's patient, considerate, humble and _not _desperate!" Nabiki enthusiastically said but obvious enough to be fake and just to tease Ranma more.

"Nabiki-chan, that's not nice," Kasumi tried to stop Nabiki.

"Whatever sis. I'll leave now. Ciao!"

"Have a nice day, Nabiki-chan," the eldest sister said as she handed Nabiki's bento. She then faced Ranma. "How about you, Ranma-kun? Aren't you going to leave early like the two? Please take your breakfast now and bring also Akane's bento. She hurriedly left and forgot it. Come on, dig in."

"I'm good, Kasumi-neechan. I'll take our bentos. We have a lot of things to do for the festival."

"Oh! How nice, you are really excited though your fiancée is the maiden. But that's okay, an orphanage will be supported by your sacrifice. You're very nice," Kasumi replied. She smiled to Ranma which made him not to object and just get the bentos.

"Thanks! I'll leave now, bye!"

"Have a nice day, too!"

Ranma was still thinking while he's walking his way to school. It was not yet late and the school was not that strict regarding the tardiness since they were about to celebrate the school festival.

'_After having a little fight with Nabiki, will she still be helping me? Of course she would. We agreed on the terms that I will pose and let her sell my pictures. But the festival is tomorrow! What are her plans! Damn it!' _Ranma thought as he jumped from the fence and kicked a can. He stopped and looked up. Something was missing. Yeah, he had been walking alone for days now. He missed Akane. He missed how they talked and bickered while he's at the fence and while she's walking in the road. He sighed.

Ranma's thought was halted by a very familiar sound. A ring, a bicycle ring specifically. He huffed and waited for what would come.

"Airen! You date Shampoo, yes?"

"No. For the nth time, no!"

"What nth, Airen? Is that yes?" the Amazon asked innocently.

"I mean, no, I can't and will not date you, Shampoo."

"What do you think you are doing, Saotome? Are you trying to kidnap my Shampoo?" a flying man appeared from nowhere but was not facing him or Shampoo after he landed. Mousse was facing a post and he had his fighting stance as if the post would fight back.

"I'm right here duck-boy! And I am not trying to kidnap Sham-" Ranma stopped then thought for a while. The two Amazons waited from him to say something or to continue.

"What now Airen stop talk?" Shampoo asked Mousse.

"I don't know. Uhm, hello Saotome?"

"Yeah!" Ranma replied as if he just woke up. "Kidnap?" he smiled manically. "No, I wont kidnap… Shampoo! I'll be late now so bye!"

"Wha-?" the two cursed teens were too stunned to reply. They just stood there and looked at the fading Ranma from their sight.

Ranma reached the Furinkan High without any problem, aside from his current one. He saw how busy every student was. Each class was busy building the booths while the others were still cutting and coloring the designs. He decided to go to the rooftop to think again. He stayed there for few minutes when he got up and went to their classroom. Few of his classmates were in the classroom doing the cutouts and coloring papers. His eyes had a mission: to look for Akane. He would talk to her. About what? He didn't know. As Ranma saw Akane, her back was facing him. She was busy cutting the colored papers and not talking much like she usually did. He didn't know how to handle this state of Akane. He felt how pathetic and desperate he was. Nabiki was right all along.

"A-Akane…?" he called.

Akane turned around and looked where that familiar voice came from. She knew it was Ranma but she didn't know how to face him that's why she left early. Ranma, on the other hand, felt nervous as he felt not only Akane's gaze but the other students in the classroom. He couldn't explain the emotions that surrounding them. Some were still mad, some were smirking, and some were confused, like Akane.

"Ranma…?" she whispered while staring confusedly at her fiancé who froze at the door.

"I-I…," Ranma stuttered. He knew for a fact that he didn't know what to say to her but he couldn't help but call her name and he was relieved to know that she could still mention his.

Akane waited patiently. She was still staring at him and he was also looking at her. It seemed like they were the only persons in the room.

The class president cleared her throat. "Yes, Ranma? Do you decide to help build the booth now or you prefer to stare Akane?"

"No. I will not help in any way. I-I just… I just want to make sure that Akane's here," he honestly said.

"Fine! Then don't interfere or mess up," the class president said then turned to continue what she was doing.

Ranma was still looking at Akane, while she decided to bow her head. Her fiancé was still there and watching her, which made her conscious. Her sudden discomfort reached Ranma's senses.

"I'll leave now."

"Ranma…" Akane uttered while still looking at the door where Ranma stood a moment ago.

Ranma went to look for Nabiki. He thought that if he didn't like her idea, he would be forced to do a drastic move. He didn't care if the whole school would get mad at him. As he stared at Akane, he felt that she somehow was asking him to save her, which he would do no matter what. He saw Nabiki outside her classroom and was talking to someone in her cell phone. He immediately approached his future sister-in-law, and as she said might be his future wife if he messed up.

"I need to hung up now. Yeah, it's a deal. It was nice talking to you too. Ciao!" Nabiki finished then clicked the end button of her cell phone. "What's up? Are you about to kick me or what?"

"No. I want to know what the plan is," he demanded.

"So impatient, Saotome. I told you, I already have a plan," she replied then turned to go back inside the classroom.

Ranma grabbed her arm and stared pleadingly but a little agitated. "I want to know the plan now, Nabiki. I can't wait. I'm about to get crazy!"

"I told you, I got it. And get your hand off me!" Nabiki annoyingly said. She swatted Ranma's arm. He let go of her but didn't left his glare. "If you are that ingrate and impatient, do it your way. I don't care. I already told you the consequences," she finished.

"And I don't care anymore," he stated then left the dumbfounded Nabiki.

Nabiki knew this kind of Ranma. He really was desperate and she was a little anxious what he could do. He was no god at planning, he did in impromptu and that made her nervous. He would do anything, as in anything for Akane. He didn't care what might happen to him as long as his mind was set, especially for her sister's welfare. She sighed and went to the classroom. "Idiot…"

Ranma ran and his direction was certain. There was someone he needed to make his new plan to work. This was his ultimate plan. The hell he care what it called. From a far he saw the Chinese sign.

"You idiot duck! Get over here. Shampoo will be here soon so don't be hasty! And-" the old Amazon stopped as she saw who was standing in the doorframe of their restaurant.

"You old mummy! You're so demanding!" Mousse retorted. Unfortunately the blind duck was facing one of their customers.

"I want to speak with you, old ghoul!" Ranma demanded, glaring at Cologne.

"Well, hello to you too, son-in-law. I'm doing great. Thank you for asking. How about you?" she sarcastically said. This martial artist didn't stop to amaze her. Aside from he's a good catch; he's a fine young man to bring strong children in their tribe.

"I'm not here to chit chat. I need something from you."

"Demanding ne? You're asking my help but your tone doesn't suit. Anyway, for sure its important by the looks," the old woman said as she looked at him from head to toe.

"Could we go to a more isolated place?" he requested.

"Well, follow me," Cologne said.

Cologne guided Ranma at the back of their kitchen, the storage area of their herbs and crafts. Ranma helped himself to look at the room. He saw a lot of bottles with Chinese encryptions or texts that he didn't know what. There were also some handicrafts, some he had seen before and some were not. He was amaze how this old mummy able to know how to use these stuff. He felt cold as he saw some bottles that he had seen the Amazons used to get him or hurt others.

"You like what you see, son-in-law?"

"Not really. These things give me creep and chill. I saw some things that I had close-encountered with and gave me bad memories," he honestly replies, still looking at the Amazon crafts.

"But I got a feeling that one of these creepy things is what you came here for," Cologne said. "Well then tell me. Take your time because I'm still thinking what would be the payment," she smiled evilly.

_'Damn! She's sharp!' _he thought. "I need something that could make a person sleep for few hours."

"Then get a sleeping pill or knock him up. Use the pressure points," the old woman suggested. She knew that Ranma knew those techniques. She just wanted to play his emotions.

"I already knew that old ghoul! I'm sorry. I mean, I don't want to use force for _this_ person. I-I mean I just want her to fall asleep and hopefully remember nothing of what happened the previous days something like that," he explained.

"Who's the person?" Cologne stared at Ranma.

Ranma panicked. If Cologne learned that he was going to use it to Akane, the old Amazon might give something lethal or would harm Akane. The Amazons considered Akane as an obstacle and they would not hesitate to erase these obstacles.

"I-It's for my, my old man," he lied. "I-I wanted to knock him o-off. H-He was trying to drag me in, in this training and, and I d-don't want to g-go."

Cologne smirked. She knew how bad liar Ranma could be. He was the worst liar. Who would believe that he wanted to use this to his father just to escape from training? Ranma loved to train and he kicked his father as often as he could. Then why he said that he would not want to use force? And why he needed a potion instead? A not harmful potion. His story was very doubtful. Shampoo mentioned something about her Airen regarding on what happened at the school. She knew what's his up to. He wanted to use it to Akane.

"I'll make you one. You can go back after 12 hours," she stated then hopped with her stick.

"12 hours? I need it now!" he demanded. He had to have the potion because he wanted to test it first before using it to Akane. His father would be a good lab rat. And he would ran out of time if he would wait 12 hours for the potion plus the testing time. He badly needed it.

"The cooking time of the potion is 24 hours but I can only lessen it in 12 hours. Take it or leave it!"

Ranma hissed. He knew that he shouldn't have gone in the Amazon at first place, but he was so desperate and might be insane. "I'll be back tonight for the potion."

"Sure, son-in-law. Sure," Cologne smiled.

"Hey! Old ghoul, aren't you going to ask something? Like payment?" he dumbly asked.

"No, I won't. Just consider this as a gift."

"Ah okay. Well then, see you later!" he then left.

Mousse hid himself at the back of the shelf. He knew most of the situation all along. He heard how Shampoo told her great grandmother about the fight Ranma and Akane had, the Maiden of the Kissing Booth. He just learned that Ranma was planning to use the potion to Akane. But why? And by the look of the old Amazon, she wouldn't do anything nice for the _obstacle. _He felt bad for the Tendo girl and he felt sorry for Ranma for digging her grave. Ranma was indeed the most stupid and clueless person he knew.

To be continued…

Thanks!


	15. Chapter 15 Night Before

Few chapters more and this story ends. Enjoy reading!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½.

Chapter 15 Night Before

Ranma spent the whole day at the rooftop, thinking. He was not in the mood to help building the booth or to fight anyone. After he visited the Cat Café, he went directly back to the school and went to the rooftop. He decided not to rely on Nabiki's plan. She didn't want to share it. As she said, 'have it his way.' Unfortunately, she also said that he'll just continue to mess up, loosing Akane and making Nabiki his bride. The thought of it gave him chills. He'll be her forever slave and he couldn't just leave it like that because of honor. And damn that honor which made Akane not to back out.

As the sun set, he stood up and decided to go home. He'll be meeting the old Amazon in few hours to get the potion he needed for his plan. He was still doubtful but what else could he do? He's out of ideas and Nabiki's still kept it a secret. Ranma didn't want to just wait and do nothing. He had to do something and he wanted to resolve this mess with his own hands.

Ranma looked at the school ground. There were few students still working on their booths. Some were cramming, some were just laughing, and some were done and about to go home. He wondered if Akane was still in the school, maybe he could walk her home. And then what? Would they still be feeling awkward like what happened in the morning? Would she still be looking at him with those beautiful brown eyes? Ranma sighed heavily. He looked up and felt the wind blew his black locks.

"I have to make this right," he murmured.

Ranma hopped and went to their classroom. Some of his classmates were still there, including Akane. He saw that the booth was already done and they just finished cleaning the room. Some were sorting the brooms and garbage bag. His eyes looked for the familiar blue-haired girl. He then saw Akane. But not the real Akane. It was here picture. It wasn't big enough but enough to feet half of the room's door. He stared at her face. She was smiling, her sincere smile. It might be one of Nabiki's snap shots. It was not yet plastered in the booth but was displayed inside the classroom.

"Hey Daisuke! Why is Akane's picture still here? Put this in front of the booth!" the class president yelled.

"But Akane requested to put it tomorrow once the festival started. It can wait, you know," Daisuke replied.

"Ok fine! Just don't forget this tomorrow first thing in the morning," she finished then grabbed her bag. "Guys! That's it for today. Rest well and we have a booth to run, especially you Akane!"

Ranma followed where the class president was looking. He then saw Akane behind a chair, putting her things in the bag. Akane nodded.

"Yahoo! Let's go home! I'm freaking tired!" Hiroshi complained. "Oh Ranma! What are doing there? We're done," he said as he saw Ranma dumbly standing at the corner.

"Oh, Saotome. We don't need your help anymore. We are done here," the class president sarcastically said.

Akane was surprised to see Ranma. She thought he was out fighting, playing, sleeping, eating or flirting with his other fiancées. The idea gave her pain and sadness. Then what he's doing here?

"I-I'm here for Akane," he answered. Everyone in the room gasped as they stared at Akane. "We're going home."

Akane looked at their classmates then bowed her head. "O-Okay," she just said then walked to Ranma. The couple left the room leaving their stunned classmates. She just walked beside her fiancé while her head was still bowed. They exited the school's premises in silence. She was surprised that he didn't bother to walk in the fence like he usually did; but she could feel that he's tensed and nervous.

"I-I'm sorry," he whispered then looked at his side where Akane was. His fiancée halted then confusedly looked at him. He stared back but immediately looked at his other side. "I-I always hurt you, b-but I don't mean it and I hate m-myself," he continued.

Akane was surprised to hear his apology. She wanted to catch his eyes to look at her but his face was away from her. She stepped closer to him and held his sleeve. "I-If you really feel sorry, you should look at me."

Ranma stiffened but slowly turned his face to her. He looked down at her beautiful eyes. He said nothing but stare. His lips trembled as if he had something to say but nothing came out. Akane still anticipated for anything he might say. "I-I don't know what to say anymore, but apologize," he said. I keep on screwing up and hurting you. I really hate myself!"

"Then don't," she stated. Her small hand was still holding his sleeve. "Think first before you talk. Think of the consequences on your words. I-I don't know when will I be used to your insults but-"

"I am not insulting you!" Ranma outburst. "I'm sorry. I-It's just that everything is more complicated!" he continued as he completely faced his fiancée. His fists were clenched at his side as Akane let go of his sleeve. He shut his eyes closed then bowed his head.

Akane was more confused. "Then what do you call that? A-are you saying that everything you named me is true? T-That I am built-like-a-brick, I am sexless and clumsy?" she whined.

Ranma snapped his eyes opened and looked at her. The brown orbs were now covered with tears. "No! T-That's not what I meant!"

"Then what?" she exasperated. "Does it mean that you are that disgusted with me? And even don't want to kiss me?'

Ranma was taken aback by her sudden question. "That's not it, Akane. I-I am… I'm just… Damn! You know I'm not good at words! Don't push it!"

"Fine," she surrendered. "I'll go ahead. The house is just few block s from here," she finished then started to walk away from him.

Ranma panicked. "I don't want you to be the maiden!"

The youngest Tendo stopped walking but didn't turn around to look at her fiancé. She already knew that he didn't want her to be the maiden from the start but she wanted him to say why and the rest would follow. "Why?"

Ranma himself was surprised. He couldn't answer. Something was blocking his throat. Why didn't he just tell her the truth; that would resolve the current issue, but what would happen after that? He couldn't tell.

Akane was hurt. Her tears were now flooding her cheeks but she bit her lower lip to hide her sobs. Why can't he just say it? Was he that prideful enough? Or he didn't feel anything for her? The latter hurt her most. If it was his pride, then she also had her own pride. "You can't accept the fact that someone, anyone, could and would willingly kiss me, right?" she hurtfully asked. "Then sorry to disappoint you, Ranma. They want. They can. They are willing."

"That's not it!" he yelled. He didn't care if someone heard him. He was staring at her hair and waiting her to turn around but didn't. Her last line was very familiar, as if he heard it before. He shivered as he remembered his dream. In that nightmare, she was so proud that there was a line of men wanting to kiss her. But unlike in his dream wherein she was smiling, this current Akane was not facing him to hide her tears. He could feel her sad aura. "That's not it, 'Kane. That's not it."

"Well, I can't back out now. The festival is tomorrow and you have seen how big my picture is which will be displayed at the booth. I don't want to disappoint the orphanage. I'll go ahead. See you at dinner," she finished the walked faster. She ran after few meters of walking.

Ranma wanted to follow her but his feet were numb. His whole body didn't move. He just looked at her fading figure. "Damn it!" he hissed. He shoved his hair and looked up. He hurt her again and made her cry. She was definitely in pain, again, because of him and he didn't want to see her again sobbing in her bed like what she did the other night. He truly messed up, big time.

Ranma decided to go to Ukyo's restaurant. He would spend his time there waiting for the potion to finish. He would pick-up the potion at around 10 in the evening. He just hoped that Shampoo was already in bed when he met up with Cologne. His thoughts were interrupted as Ukyo placed a plate of Japanese pizza in front of him.

"It's hard to think if your stomach is empty, especially if that stomach is owned by Ranma Saotome. That will help you," Ukyo stated, staring down at her childhood fiancé.

"Uhm, thanks," he replied but didn't devour the food as he usually did. He just stared at the customized heart-shaped okonomiyaki.

Ukyo raised her brow as she observed Ranma. He was looking at the food as if it was something inedible. She knew that he and Akane had a fight but didn't know how bad it was that he didn't bother to mind his own stomach. It might be really _that_ bad.

"What is it now, Ranchan?" she inquired.

"Huh?"

She sighed. It was really a bad fight between her fiancé and his other fiancée. "You had a fight with Akane-chan, right? You two acted weird back at school. I am really hurt Ran-chan, and jealous!" she exclaimed. The guy tried to protest but stopped by Ukyo palm in his face. "I am not stupid Ranma. I know there's something wrong with you and Akane and I am not in the position to say anything about it. But as a friend, you better fix it, as soon as you can. Or else, you'll be staying with me and eating okonomiyaki all your life," she joked. "Akane is my rival for your affection but I am considering her as a friend because she is a nice girl and I like her," she honestly said.

"Thank you," was just what Ranma said. He knew Ukyo understood and he was thankful. He sighed then closed his eyes. "I am working on it, don't worry," he smiled. "Can I eat this now?" he asked, feeling relieved that someone was still in his side.

"It's all along yours, Ran-chan.," the chef said. She was really jealous of Akane but she knew that Ranma treated the Tendo girl differently compared to his other fiancées, including her. She might not win Ranma in the end but for sure, she would be his and Akane's friend.

Ranma thanked Ukyo for the free dinner then left. Although Ukyo was his friend, he didn't share or tell her his plan or the favor he asked to the Old Amazon. He still had few hours to wait before he could go to the Cat Café. He was about to go the park when he bumped to someone. A loud thud was heard from him and from the person. He could also blame himself since his attention was not in the street. But did the other person really have to bump him hard?

"Ouch! Look where you're walking, asshole!" he groaned massaging his butt.

"My apology. I was in a hurry and I forgot my eyeglasses!" the other person humbly said as he repeatedly bowed his head.

"Mousse?"

"Is that you Saotome?"

"Yeah. But I am here. Am I thin that you confused me with a pole? You already facing me a while ago, tsk!"

"Eh he he, sorry. I already have poor eye sight then I forgot my eye glasses, how ironic!" Mousse explained.

"Then are you roaming at night without eyeglasses? Are you running errand for the old mummy?" Ranma asked.

"Speaking of which, I was really looking for you, Saotome. Let's go to somewhere else," the duck invited then offered his hand. His hand landed almost near Ranma's groin if he didn't act fast.

"Pervert! What are you planning to do? Don't tell me you just decided not to pursue Shampoo and run for me. Well, sorry, I am a sex-changing freak but I still prefer girls! And I already have several fiancées and there's no more room for you!" Ranma disgustedly stated.

"Idiot! Quiet! I don't like your kind and I don't eat junk foods, gross!" Mousse fought back.

"Who're you calling junk, duck-boy?"

"Shut up, Saotome! I have something to give to you. You would thank me for this so be quiet and look for a secluded place," Mousse retorted.

"Did the old mummy ask you to bring something for me?" Ranma suspiciously inquired. He was looking at hands of Mousse. The Amazon male might be asked by Cologne to bring the potion for him.

"No! Just, just look for a place where we can talk or else you'll regret!" he snapped.

"Okay! Okay! Why did you leave your eyeglasses? Now I have to guide you instead of just following me!" Ranma complained.

The two cursed boys went to a secluded area of the park. Mousse tried to sense the vicinity and found no one around except them.

"I created a potion that you need. It's not from the old ghoul," Mousse started.

Ranma raised his brow and tried to think what Mousse was up to. "What will I do to your potion? I asked Cologne, not you. Oh! So you were eavesdropping at us. Tsk! I thought Amazons have dignity."

"I can't help it. Those two spoke loud at each other," Mousse shrugged. "I am aware that you are about to use the potion to Akane-san. And you are stupid to ask Cologne for it. You will end up helping to 'erase' the obstacle," he calmly explained.

Ranma felt cold of Mousse's revelation. "What do you mean?"

"Don't act more stupid than you already are, Saotome. You know what I meant," the blind boy seriously said. "The two considered Akane-san as rival, as an obstacle. We, Amazons, do everything to remove obstacles, no matter what it costs. Cologne knew for sure to whom you going to use the potion you requested. She's old but wise and your wit just made her realize it."

Ranma couldn't say anything. He was dumbfounded and felt useless. Mousse was right. What the hell was he thinking asking Cologne to make a potion for Akane? Of course, they might paralyze her, erase her memory, or worst, kill her. The thought gave Ranma shiver in his spine. How stupid of him! His palms were in cold sweat. "I-I am so desperate a-and… shit!" he admitted. He felt mad. He was furious not only to the old Amazon, but also to himself.

Mousse saw how vulnerable Ranma Saotome could be. He saw how the pig-tailed martial artist leaned on the wall and defeated by his own act. "It's a good thing I eavesdropped. As I said, Amazons do everything to erase the obstacles. I considered you as an obstacle for my Shampoo," he started. "But I will not kill you or do anything disgraceful just to erase you from the scene. I'll just lure you out from us," he finished.

"H-How?" Ranma inquired as he felt his senses back. "Hey man, thanks for the heads up. I'll just go with Nabiki's plan. She hasn't said anything but I take the chance instead of luring Akane to Cologne's trap. Thanks! Bye!"

"Wait! I know Nabiki-san is brilliant but I can offer you something," Mousse stopped Ranma before he ran. He handed a small bottle with a blue liquid inside.

"What's this? I told you, I hate to admit it but I'll just rely on Nabiki. For sure she wouldn't plan anything that could hurt Akane, they're sisters."

"This is not harmful at all. It is what you requested. A sleeping potion. She'll fall asleep for few hours and will lose her recent memories. No side effects."

Ranma suspiciously looked at Mousse. How could he trust this guy? He's an Amazon too for God's sake! He might be brainwashed by Cologne. But if the duck helped the old Amazon to get rid of Akane, then Shampoo could get him all by herself. It's just that one rival down. The strongest rival specifically. But what would left for Mousse if Shampoo got him?

Ranma also understood Mousse's intention. No Ranma, no rival to Shampoo. If the duck-boy helped him to make up with Akane, he'll be out of the picture between the two teen Amazons. It's a win-win situation for the both of them.

The pig-tailed was having dilemma. He wanted to accept the potion but Mousse was an Amazon, a tribe not to be trusted, based on experience. Nabiki's plan added more of his dilemmas. He trusted Nabiki's plans would not hurt Akane, but how about him? Well, he already decided not to think of himself for his fiancée's sake, didn't he? So the hell with his pride and ego as long as Akane would be _his_ Akane again and she's safe. That's all he wanted.

The two cursed teens stood face to face. Both minds were working.

"I am not asking you to use it but just an option. I know Nabiki-san will not harm her sister. But in case, just in case Saotome," Mousse said as he handed the small bottle. "You can throw it if you want, you can test it, do whatever you please. Just take it. If the old mummy saw it, she'll forbid me to get near Shampoo and I don't want that," he sadly explained. "That potion took less than an hour to finish while Cologne went to the market. She bought something that she'll use for your requested potion. She already told Shampoo about your plan and I don't know what kind of potion she'll give. Just so you know Saotome, in our tribe, the longer the preparation of the potion, the more lethal. So the 12 hours she said, it's a little strong potion but enough to knock down your father," Mousse further explained

"What?" Ranma exclaimed. His father might be lazy but still a good martial artist. So a potion that could knock down Genma Saotome was not a 'little stronger' like what Mousse said. He just stared at the small bottle in his hand, and then looked at Mousse. "Thanks, I'll think about it."

"Consider it as an apology gift from me, you know, when I attacked you the other day. I-I was just jealous. You know what jealousy can do, right?" Mousse asked blushingly the also blushing Ranma.

"Y-Yeah…"

"Farewell for now, Saotome. The old mummy might look for me. Don't tell anyone that we meet here," Mousse's last words before he ran.

Ranma was about to stop him but the duck-boy ran fast. Unfortunately, he ran to the wrong direction. "He'll end up like Ryoga." He went to a bench and waited. He decided to try the potion first to his father. Mousse was so nice that he even left a small note on the dosage of the potion.

Ten in the evening.

"Oh son-in-law, how's your day?" Cologne said as Ranma entered the Cat Café. They were about to close the café and the two teen Amazons were cleaning as the old hag counted their sales.

"Never been better, old hag," Ranma sarcastically replied.

"Airen! Airen visit Shampoo so late but okay!" Shampoo yelped then jumped to Ranma.

Ranma just let Shampoo clang in his body. He didn't care. He just wanted to talk to Cologne then leave. "Can we talk?"

"Of course, son-in-law. Come," Cologne hopped using her stick to go to the storage room of the café. "You two, finish that then sleep!" she commanded the two other Amazons.

The room still gave Ranma the creeps, making the hair in his nape stood. "Where's the potion?"

"Don't be hasty, son-in-law. You're just in time. I finished it. Here," she handed a small bottle, same bottle that Mousse gave to him, but it has green liquid. A teaspoon of it can make the person sleep in 4-5 hours then will not remember the first 24 hours before he slept."

"Got it!" then Ranma turned around to leave. He turned back to face Cologne again. "You sure you don't want anything as payment?"

"We bother you and your family too much, in return, that is the help I could give. Please accept it."

"Whatever!" Ranma replied. He passed through Mousse and Shampoo. He didn't look at Mousse's direction to avoid suspicion from the wise old lady. Shampoo tried to grope him but he dodged and hurriedly left.

Mousse could see how evil the old Amazon had in her lips. Shampoo looked at her grandmother and smile appeared in her lips.

The Tendo household was already quiet when Ranma arrived. He looked at Akane's windows and saw that the light was already off. He stopped himself to go and look her sleeping form. He still had something to do. As he remembered what happened before they parted their ways, he then realized that she might still be up and crying. He didn't like that scene. He endured the urge then proceeded to go and test the potions.

Ranma threw Cologne's potion to a plant in the garden. He waited patiently for a minute then the plant dried up and died. He stepped back as his knees weakened. If he didn't calm down and went directly to Cologne and used the potion to Akane, she's dead in a minute. "Damn you, Cologne!" he hissed.

Ranma was breathing heavily and tried to calm himself again. He then reached the other potion, the blue one, from his pocket and stared at it. He dropped few content of it in another plant but nothing happen. He waited for several minutes but still nothing happen. He was counting in his head when he heard footsteps, he hid and looked who it was. Ryoga. He looked like he's lost again, inside the Tendo's yard. Ranma smiled and crawled near the koi pond.

"Hey Ryoga!" Ranma called the lost boy.

"Huh? Wha-" Ryoga did not finish what he was about to say as water slammed in his face and instead of words, it was now squeaks from an angry black piglet.

"Thanks for dropping by, lab rat. Or should I say, lab piglet," Ranma said as he picked up the struggling piglet and faced it.

To be continued….

Few more chapters and I'm done! Thanks for the reviews!


	16. Chapter 16 Festival Day Part 1

I'm almost done. I'm almost done! Enjoy reading!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½.

Chapter 16 Festival Day Part 1

As Ryoga opened his eyes, he tried to remember where he was. He saw familiar walls and ceiling plus the familiar altar. As he turned his head more, he saw a familiar face. "Ranma?"

"Oh Thank God! You're up! You're such a sleepyhead bacon-breath," Ranma exasperated.

"What am I doing here in Tendo Dojo? And why are my clothes wet?" he inquired as he sat up.

'_He can't remember that I splashed him with water and forced him to drink the potion, it's a good sign," _Ranma thought. "I-I just saw you last night and you were so tired. You collapsed near the pond," he lied.

"I did? See, I thought I was in Hokkaido. When I asked an old woman, she said I was in Hokkaido. But I don't know why ended up here," Ryoga stated while scratching his hair.

"What day was that?" Ranma inquired. He was trying to extract from the lost boy on how long he could remember.

"Monday. I know I heard a student complaining about her weekend or something like that stuff. Why? How long I have been asleep?" he confusedly asked.

"It's already Friday," Ranma smirked. It only means that Ryoga lost almost three days of his memory. So if he would use it to Akane, she wouldn't remember his fight with Mousse, their attempted kiss and his hurtful words, as well as the School Festival preparations. That would be enough for him; at least she would also forget the pain she endured during this span of time.

"What? Friday?" Ryoga shouted. He suddenly got up to his feet. "Oh man! Where's my bag? Did it also get wet? I might be so tired that I collapsed."

"Hey! What are you up to?" Ranma inquired. He's now confused why Ryoga suddenly got excited.

"I was really trying to get here as early as Wednesday or Thursday, but it's okay. It's Friday morning right?"

"It's still dawn, bacon-breath! It's still dark outside. It's only 4 in the morning."

"You're right. I thought I'm late for the festival. Where's my bag?" Ryoga asked again. He was smiling broadly showing his fangs, which gave creeps at Ranma. "Can I use your bathroom? I think I need to change my clothes. I don't want to get sick once the festival started."

"Whoa! Hold it right there! What do you mean by that? What festival?"

"Geez, Ranma. You're an idiot. It's your school's festival and you don't even know it?" he sarcastically referred to the pig-tailed boy.

"I am aware of our school's festival. I just want to know why you are interested. Are you going to attend because-," Ranma cut his own sentence and wide-eyed looking at the still smiling Ryoga. "You bastard! Don't tell me you have tickets for the booth!"

Ryoga sensed Ranma's hostility and he predicted that he'll be the usual protective Ranma. He jumped where his bag was. Ranma was too slow to react as Ryoga grabbed his bag and checked the contents.

The bandana boy's face changed from worried to grinning when he found what he was looking for. His booth tickets were not harmed and still safe in a plastic wrapper. "Hah! It's now or never!"

"What the hell? I knew it! You piggy bastard! Where did you get those tickets?" Ranma spat.

"Someone sent me. I was just lucky. I was out for training but I accidentally reached our house and found these. Oh, Akane-chan…" Ryoga fantasized. He was grinning wide. "Can I use the bathroom?"

"Do whatever you want you bacon-breath!"

Ryoga left with his bag. He decided not to leave his things in Ranma's care as the pig-tailed boy hostility towards him. As he entered the bathroom, the bandana boy was still thinking how he ended up in the Tendo dojo. The last thing he remembered was asking for directions. Then after that, nothing; he missed more than 70 hours. He thought that it might be a good thing. At least he's already at Akane's house before the festival.

While Ryoga was changing his clothes in the bathroom, Ranma started to think his plan. "So if Ryoga lost 3 days of his memory, I might need to give Akane the same dosage," he whispered. He decided to check the small note Mousse included in the bottle to check the dosage. "Oh shit!" he whined. The small paper was wet and the ink almost faded. He tried to read as far as he could but every letter almost faded, or the whole note. "Damn it!" he hissed. "Wait! How much did I use to Ryoga?" he asked himself as he tried to remember. He was now sitting straight and more confused than ever while staring at the small bottle in his palm. "Geez, I don't remember! I think it was 3 teaspoons, so it was 3 days of lost memory. Was it? But I used it when Ryoga was in his cursed form. Will it be different if I use it in his normal form?" he started to panic and furiously scratched his already messy hair. He tried to look at the note again. It made him more frustrated as he read Mousse's note 'don't forget' at the bottom of the paper. It only meant that it was a reminder. "Then what was it?"

"Have you lost it?" Ryoga said as he interrupted Ranma's self-bickering. He was surprised to see an almost defeated look at his rival's face. "Man, you really lost it. You look shit," he just commented.

"Ryoga, do you feel anything strange in your body, I mean, aside from you lost your memory?" Ranma hopefully asked. He wanted to know if there were any harm or side effects before he use it to Akane, aside from of course, sleeping and losing some memories.

"Well, I feel good. That's because my tickets are safe and you look like an ass," Ryoga fondly answered. "Well then, I'll leave now. Just to make sure I arrive at Furinkan High as the festival starts. See you later, Saotome!" he waved at the slumped Ranma.

"Did he also forget that he hates me all his life or he was just so happy? Damn, I don't care anymore," Ranma stated then rested his back the dojo floor. He felt tired. He hadn't slept much plus he couldn't sleep anymore as he had to think.

Ranma waited for the sun to rise. He did few katas to relax his mind, but it failed. He was still anxious and restless. The festival will officially open at 10 in the morning. He smelled Kasumi's cooking and heard her hums. He didn't bother to check the time; he just knew that he had few hours left to execute the plan.

"You woke up early, or should I say, you stayed so late?" a voice from behind said. Nabiki was leaning at the dojo door; her arms were crossed in front of her chest. "Oh I'm sorry, I forgot my manners. Good morning!"

Ranma just looked at Nabiki's direction then continued his swift moves. He was still in deep thoughts and Nabiki's sarcastic comments wouldn't help.

"Oh! So serious ne? Well, it's okay. Just so you know, our deal is still a deal. I'll execute it even though you have a plan on your own. Goodluck. Ta-ta!" as she waved her hand.

Ranma still didn't say anything. If she had plans, why couldn't she share it with him? He had a solid plan now. It was now or never.

Akane and Nabiki left early. Ranma peeked as his fiancée left the house. He even hid a little when she stopped running at the gate. He felt she sensed him but didn't turn around to check.

Ranma left the house with a big bag. He hopped unto the roofs to arrive at school early. There were already a lot of students in each booth. Some were still fixing and designing some were just waiting for the ceremony. He hid at a tree to check the Kissing Booth. He felt cold as he saw Akane's pictures, it weren't posted yet. He saw Nabiki but she was about to leave. _'What is she doing at our booth?' _He then saw Akane. She just came from the booth. Their class president invited Akane back at the booth with confused face. _'What now?' _he thought. He checked the time; it was 9:30, 30 minutes before the festival started. He learned from the booklet that there would be a ceremony so it would be around 10:30 for the booths to be opened. He hurriedly went to the rooftop, making sure that no one noticed him.

Ranma landed silently. He removed the clothes from the bag. He didn't forget to take the little bottle of potion. His palms were sweaty and he's really nervous, figuratively nervous. He exhaled all the air in his lungs before he raised his hand with a bottle of cold water. Ranma closed his eyes and poured the water. The very masculine Ranma became the sexy Ranko-chan.

"I really can't get used to this!" the red-haired ranted. He disgustedly started to wear the clothes from his bag pack and even wore a wig to hide his famous red hair. He sighed heavily as he stared at himself in a pocket mirror. A beautiful blue-eyed girl was staring back at him. He needed 'Ranko-chan' to get Akane back. His thoughts were interrupted by a bell. It only meant that the festival started. He waited patiently as the teachers presented their booths and some comments, blah, blah, blah!

Ranko checked again the Kissing Booth from afar. Akane's pictures were still not posted. There was a small commotion around it while their class president was announcing something he couldn't hear. As the second bell rang, indicating that the booths were about to start, Ranko jumped from his hiding place and ran at the Kissing Booth.

There was indeed a commotion. Of course, Tatewaki Kuno was in front of the line and talking with the class president. He didn't even bother to listen what the talk was about. He just wanted to pass and go inside the booth.

"Excuse miss, I need to see Akane-chan. I am her, uhm, her cousin. I am staying with the Tendos. She left her bento. Can I get in?" Ranko cutely asked the class president. It was so hard for him to act and use girl's charm to another girl.

The class president looked suspiciously at the brunette girl in front of her. "Hmmm… I didn't know that Akane-chan has a cousin currently living in their house. And I told the class not to bring food anymore since we prepared pack lunch for every one," she stated.

"Oh. I am sorry if I interfere with your activity. I just arrived last night and I didn't know that you have foods here," Ranko added more charm as he saw his male classmates showed adoration towards his female form. It was a good thing they didn't recognize him with the brunette wig but still felt gross as his male classmates drooled over him.

"Hey Yuuki, just let her in. She's no harm. Look at her, she's so gentle. She just wanted to speak with Akane-chan!" Daisuke requested their class president.

"Yeah. You just want to speak with your cousin, right?" Hiroshi asked Ranko, whom nodded silently.

Yuuki still looked doubtful but let the small girl passed. Ranko smirked but was stopped by big hands holding his small fists.

"You're such a beauty, my beloved. I, Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, is undoubtedly giving my heart and soul for the only girl I –opf!"

"Oh I am sorry. I can't control my feet. It just land on annoying things," Ranko explained as he kicked Kuno's face. The tall guy let go of Ranko's hand and lay unconsciously at the school ground.

Ranko smiled at his classmates as he passed them and went his way through the booth. There was still a commotion and their class president, Yuuki, tried to explain but he didn't bother to listen as he was fixed to do his own plan.

Ranko hurriedly went inside and looked for Akane. She was sitting, her back facing him. He cleared his throat first to distract her attention. "Akane-chan, here's a refreshment to sooth you. I know you're nervous being the maiden but this will help cool you down."

"Huh?"

The other students inside the booth were looking at him. They were confusedly looking at him. He was also confusedly looking at the stamps and inks placed in the small table.

"Uhm, who are you?" Sayuri asked. "You're not allowed to be here; only members of our class can come in. Do you know Akane-chan? How about you Akane? Do you know this girl?"

"Hey guys, she's Akane's cousin. She was worried about Akane-chan so she brought her bento," Hiroshi stated from Ranko's back.

Ranko stiffened and got cold as he looked at Akane. She was trying to recognize him and it seemed that she already did as he saw anger in her eyes.

"Oh really? You have a cute cousin, Akane-chan! But I think we saw her before," Yuka excitedly said.

"Yes, you already definitely saw _him _before," Akane exclaimed, her teeth grinned and furiously looking at the fake brunette.

"I'm sorry, Akane!" Ranko just said as he attacked Akane. He forced the juice in her mouth and pinched her nose so she would be forced to swallow the liquid.

Their classmates couldn't do anything as Ranko moved fast and swift. They just watched as Ranko grabbed Akane and put something in her mouth. The blue-haired girl tried to struggle but being inferior she was just able to swat her attacker's hand, that was after she swallowed most of the liquid. Akane tried to cough out the liquid but it was too late. The liquid tasted just like a plain apple juice, then what's in it why Ranko had to force her to drink it?

"What are you doing, Ranma?" Akane inquired after she finished coughing. "You could've just give it to me!" "What's wrong with you? You even tried to disguise with that lousy dress and wig!"

Everyone in the booth gasped as they looked at the small girl. It was until now that they recognized that the petite girl was Ranko, Ranma's cursed female form.

"What the hell is going on here? I am trying to fix the commotion outside!" Yuuki asked as she entered and saw everyone was looking at Akane's 'cousin.' "And you! I thought you're not going to make any trouble that's why I let you in!" she was pointing at Ranko.

"That's Ranma," Yuka stated. "He forced Akane to drink something."

"Ranmaaaaa!" the class president growled. "You didn't help to plan, to decorate or to even build the booth and now you were trying to ruin it! I'll make sure Principal Kuno knows this once he's back from Hawaii!" she threatened.

The students directed their attention from Ranko, to their class president, and then to Akane as she started to stumble and tried to stand straight. Ranko smirked. The potion started to take effect, faster than Ryoga. He remembered how he struggled to tame the black piglet. Ryoga was in his cursed form when he tried the potion but was strong enough to escape from him few times. He was somehow nervous of the effect to Akane. He was not able to follow the instruction or dosage since Mousse's note was washed out when the paper got wet.

"I am sorry guys," Ranko announced as he leaped unto Akane's side and caught her before she hit the floor. "I'll take care of her, and good luck with the booth," he finished as he escaped with Akane in his arms.

"Ranma! Get back here!" the class president shouted as they tried to run after Ranko. "Why did he have to take Akane?"

"Well, that is to stop Akane from kissing the male Furinkan students," Nabiki appeared from the booth entrance. "He didn't want Akane to be the maiden, that's all. But he couldn't just ask her. You know him; he's bad at words, especially at Akane, but a very, very protective and jealous fiance."

"But Akane is no longer the maiden. And there's no maiden required for the new gimmick. Didn't he know that?"

"Maybe he's not aware. For sure, he's not aware. He was too engrossed of his plan to kidnap Akane from the booth to stop the operation. We had a deal. He didn't trust me. So he ended up doing his own stupid plan again without researching more," Nabiki huffed.

"Well, it's his fault! He just showed up in the classroom once in a while just to stare at Akane. He didn't ask for any updates of the booth, and then he'll just come here to kidnap Akane!" Yuuki whined.

"Oh well, just look for a faster runner to replace Akane. That will take a while. I don't think Ranma will surrender Akane any moment from now. So just continue running your booth as we planned. Ciao!"

"Thank you, Nabiki-san!" Yuuki bowed at Nabiki to show gratitude. The middle Tendo just shrugged then left the booth. The class president then faced the other students. "Okay, listen up guys! Our two fastest runners are out, so we have to execute the gimmick with all our strength! As Nabiki-san explained a while ago, put the lip-shaped stamp unto anyone's body parts! To the runners, any one who has the 'kiss mark' stamp, catch them and bring to the Marshall Booth. Their friends can bail them out using our tickets."

"Have you fixed the commotion outside?" Sayuri asked. "It seems that the male students who bought tickets to kiss Akane are making a scene outside, I mean asking for a refund."

"Oh that? I already explained it and Nabiki-san already took care of them."

"How? The tickets were sold out!"

"It was included in the ticket. I don't know how Nabiki-san did it but anyone who pursue with Akane-chan to be the maiden, with the ticket, also has a challenge with Ranma since he's the fiancé. Nabiki-san didn't explain it to me well but as for the refund, she also took care of it. She talked with two companies to sponsor the orphanage. Two companies. Isn't she brilliant?" Yuuki finished.

"But there's still a loud noise outside, Yuuki-chan. So I think the commotion is not yet fixed," Yuka nervously exclaimed.

"Oh that? That was just Kuno-sempai. All the commotion and rants were just Kuno-sempai. Of course, all the ticket buyers, except him, agreed with the new gimmick. They don't want to challenge or fight Ranma. They value their lives and they don't want to join the already complicated status of that engaged couple, so they have no choice but to accept it. As a bonus, we have two sponsoring companies. So that loud coup outside, it was all along Kuno-sempai."

The class just nodded as an agreement of the ranting Kuno outside their booth. The class president gave the signal to start the lip-stamping unto the students. They just ignored Tatewaki Kuno's antics regarding his chance to release Akane from Ranma's bewitching stuff.

To be continued…


	17. Chapter 17 Festival Day Part 2

Whew! This is almost done! I couldn't believe that my 'one-shot fanfic plan' became a 15+ chapter fic. Sorry guys if the last few chapters were longer and the pace was fast. I was trying to finish the story and I didn't realize that I had made it long. I didn't realize also that the plot became fast. I hope that this didn't make my story not worth reading. I'll be making more fan fics soon. Thank you soooooo much!

Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½.

Chapter 17: Festival Day Part 2

Ranma hopped away from the school ground roof to roof. He made it look like he was running away so that in case someone decided to follow them, he would just lure them out into different location. When it seemed that no one followed, he went back to Furinkan High from a different route, still roof to roof. The red-haired girl felt a little exhausted since his female form was a little weaker but faster than his male form.

Ranma landed silently in the rooftop of the Furinkan High building and gently laid the unconscious form of Akane on a prepared mattress he left. He sighed heavily before gathering his big bag and revealing a thermos. He removed the girl's dress then poured the hot water over his head to become male again. As Ranma became 'he' again, he sat beside the supine form of his fiancée. Akane was breathing normally and didn't show any discomfort, making him relax. He stared at her and tucked the loose hair strands from her beautiful face.

"I'm sorry, Akane, but I have to this. I-I don't care what will happen next but I just want you off that booth," Ranma said as if he was talking to Akane. "I am really, really not good at this!"

The martial artist calmed himself as he looked up and felt the wind blew his almost dry and messy hair. He scratched and closed his eyes. "How can I make this right?"

Ranma gently held Akane's head and placed it in his lap. He knew that the potion would make her sleep for a while so he wouldn't bother to be called 'pervert.' He slightly touched her soft cheeks. He then reached for her hand and rubbed his thumb on her knuckle. Although he was aware that Akane would not wake up until later, he was till nervous. He was so anxious that he just wanted to run but didn't want to leave Akane laying in the rooftop. Ranma decided to rest his back by lying while his head was pillowing his arms and closed his eyes to relax. Their position was like letter 'T' as Akane was pillowing his lap and him, pillowing his arms.

Unfortunately, unknown to Ranma, Akane was awake. Yes, she was unconscious after swallowing the potion but woke up after several minutes. The problem was, her body couldn't move. The whole body was paralyzed, she couldn't move even her eyelids and lips; but not numb. She felt as Ranma grabbed her head and rested it in his lap, it was the time she woke up, not literally since she couldn't talk or at least open her eyes. She also heard him talk.

'_What the hell is he thinking?'_ she thought. _'What was that liquid? And what was that for? I hate this! I couldn't ask him now,'_ she furiously said to herself. _'Why can't I move? I couldn't even open my eyes! I'll kill you Ranma!' _

Akane felt mad at Ranma for using that potion to her. She knew that he got it from the Amazon, where else could it be? If it's true, why did he use it to her and why the hell did he collaborate with the Amazons? Were they trying to eliminate her? The thought made her sad, very, very sad. Was he so disgusted to her that he had to ask the Amazon's help? Once she's gone what he'll do? Would he run away with Shampoo and live in China? _'Baka…'_

Ranma was still thinking what to say and what to do when he felt Akane moved. He looked at her sleeping form and suddenly got up as he saw her breathed radically. Her stomach moved up and down but in a very abnormal manner. He panicked. He gently removed her head from his lap and got a cloth to make her pillow. As he reached her, Ranma saw tears in her close eyes.

The martial artist panicked, literally. This was bad: the crying Akane. To make it worse, she was unconscious and he didn't know what made her cry and uncomfortable. This was the risk. His eyes suddenly felt teary. He didn't bother to wipe it since no one could see him, and he didn't care at all! He wiped Akane's tears instead and cupped her face.

"Akane! What's wrong? Damn it!" he desperately pleaded. "Please be alright! I promise I won't do this thing again, just be alright, please! I shouldn't trust those Amazons!"

Akane calmed when she heard her fiancé pleaded for her safety. She still felt mad on what he did to her but was touched as she felt how sincere he was when he spoke. She decided to be calmer for him not to panic and speak. She couldn't ask him since her whole body was paralyzed, but it seemed that he'll talk for himself. Ranma admitted that the Amazons were in this but she still wanted to know how and why. She also needed to be calm because her fiancé might do something unthinkable again.

"Thank Kami! You seem okay now," Ranma said as he felt Akane's breathing returned to normal. He touched her forehead and neck to check her temperature. "Whew!" he felt relieved.

He was still worried. He didn't know what exactly happened to Akane and he didn't want that to happen before and after she woke up. Ranma felt unease. He was still anxious on how much dosage of the potion she used for Akane. To make it safer, he used a little amount and put it in her juice. She didn't drink all the juice and she puked some of it. The effect might be lesser the effect to Ryoga since he used pure potion to his cursed form. He was still thinking about the 'don't forget' phrase in Mousse's note. Ranma just sighed heavily and looked at Akane again. He frowned and scratched his hair again.

Ranma decided to lie beside Akane. He let her pillowed the cloth and he just pillowed his arm to level his face to hers. The pig-tailed guy decided to lie in his side, facing his fiancée. He stared at her profile for a while and touched her cheek with his point finger. He traced his finger from her cheek to her jaw line, and then traced the dry tears in her temple and eyelid. He felt right while doing it, like it was natural for him to do this to Akane.

"Please don't scare like that again, Akane," he whined. Ranma chuckled as he continued, "I was about to run and kill the Amazons, especially Mousse if you hadn't calmed down. I-I was so scared," he choked. "More than scared when you accepted t-to be the m-maiden. It hurt me when y-you accepted the r-role in front of me. I-I felt useless. I-I don't want you to be the maiden, but I can't stop you or make you decline because you were mad at me. And, and I know your honor wouldn't allow you to back out."

Ranma stopped his finger near Akane's lips. He smiled and decided to put away his finger and the rest of his hand to hold hers. He closed his eyes and smelled her scent. Oh how he loved that scent, added with her natural scent and sweat which didn't lessen what he felt for her. "I love your scent," he wistfully said.

Akane heard everything, but still couldn't move or even open her eyes to look at him and show that she had forgiven him. She was still waiting for him to confess, anything: Why he used the potion and asked the Amazons, and his feelings towards her. She was touched on how he confessed his disapproval of her being the maiden and how scared he was when her body reacted. She knew that he was lying beside her and he was facing her side as she felt his breath blowing her ear and hair. Each breath made her chill but since her body couldn't move much, he was still clueless.

Ranma panicked again as he felt Akane's hand wend cold in his grip. He instantly knelt beside her and tried to observe her breathing while still holding her hand. His fiancée was breathing normally but her hand was still cold, both of her hands. Ranma slowly placed his head sideward in front of Akane's chest. Her heartbeat was fast and erratic which made him cupped her face again. He got confused because her face was warm and her cheeks has pinkish glow.

"Are you sick Akane?" he asked as he tried to check her temperature. It seemed normal. He sighed and decided to lie again beside her, in the same position. "Hmmm. I think you're alright. Yes, you are alright," he convinced himself.

Ranma decided to change their position. He slowly pulled the cloth from Akane's head and placed it just under his head as he was still holding his fiancée's head. He placed her head in his bicep, making it her pillow and he laid his in the cloth he got from her a while ago. "This is better," he said contently and broadly smiled.

Akane wanted to move but was confused on how to react on Ranma's aggressiveness. She wanted to pound him hard for making her drink the potion and for taking advantage of her subconscious state. But she felt warm as she lay near Ranma's body. It felt like his arms and sides were molded for her. She felt how her heartbeat fastened and she could tell that her cheeks were red hue again.

Ranma was not able to see Akane's blushing face as he was staring at the clouds changing form. He was relaxing himself for the nice weather and didn't care how crazy the festival was. All he knew was he's contented resting while Akane was in his arm.

"You gonna kill me for sure, once you learned this," he started. Akane put her attention to what her fiancé was saying. "I am thinking what you'll do to me for forcing you to drink the potion. You'll kick me to the orb again," he chuckled. "What more if you learned that I am taking advantage of you? Tch! Of course, I'll make sure no one knows but me… so I can deny it."

Akane waited patiently for Ranma to continue. She couldn't do anything but listen though her body seemed to react a little in his intimacy. She decided to just enjoy _it_ and listen.

"You know what, I hate this maiden thing. Super hate! I also hate myself for hurting you, again," Ranma seriously stated. He just imagined that he had courage enough to say it in front of Akane. "I-I really wanted to kiss you that night," he confessed.

Akane felt relieved. She wanted to gasp, to smile or to hug him for confessing but, of course, she couldn't. She wanted to burst laughing while hugging him for looking like an idiot, talking to her 'sleeping' state. She understood that her fiancé just wanted to freely say what he really wanted to say without receiving any kick or punch from her. She was guilty of jumping into conclusion without listening but he should be guilty for insulting her, right?

Akane stopped pondering when she heard him sighed.

"I-I, we almost kissed but that Amazon just came from no where and I was scared that you'll deny me or you'll kick me, so I reacted defensively. I feel really, really bad for denying you. It was worse when I saw how much I hurt you," Ranma paused as he swallowed the big lump in his throat. He also heard his own voice, it started to sound hoarse. He cleared his throat and continued. "The very worst of that was I dreamed of you kissing them, those bastards!" he gritted his teeth just by mentioning the male Furinkan students. "They were all over you. It was a nightmare. I don't know what I'll do if that came true. Maybe I'll became a mass murderer, he he he," he lightly said but his intention reached Akane.

'_Ranma…'_she thought. Akane felt like crying again. She forced not to react as much as she could. Her body reaction could make Ranma panic again and he still had many things to say and confess while she's 'asleep.'

"I was so desperate when you accepted to be the maiden. I tried to stop you, you know it, right? I even tried to replace you or destroy the booth," he smiled at the thought of it. "Then I decided to ask Nabiki. I'll be forever indebted to her for sure but your sister didn't share what kind of plan she has! I felt like she just wanted to exploit me!" he huffed. "I'm sorry, 'kane. I know she's still your sister but she wanted me to pose and be her slave for months, for crying out loud! So I decided to ask Cologne, risky right?"

Akane felt bad as Ranma confessed about Nabiki's mode of payment. She knew her sister was conniving but it seemed like it was too much. She was excited and nervous to hear about his plan with the Amazons.

"I asked Cologne to make a potion, I mean just for you to sleep and forget," Ranma stated. "The terrifying thing about it was she didn't ask for anything in return, or even at least dating Shampoo. I was still confused when Mousse told me not to trust the old mummy," he stopped and wet his lips. His encounter with Cologne was the most regretful thing he did and it would be worst if he had trusted the old woman. "Mousse replaced Cologne's potion and I tried it to a plant. The creepy part was the plant died after using Cologne's potion. Could you believe that? I-I almost k-killed you," his voice suddenly became weak as he spoke the last sentence.

Akane went cold again. The Amazons were really trying to kill her, the obstacle. She was furious and wanted to kick the two female Amazons and bring them back to where they belong, away from them. She was surprised when she felt Ranma rubbed her hand using his fingers.

"You're cold again, 'kane," he observed. "I hate this, I don't know what's happening to you but I felt like you're okay. I felt free, saying what I really wanted to say," he continued. He smiled as he remembered the next story. "When I tried Mousse's potion to Ryoga, it was effective, but, I lost Mousse's note, so I don't know how much I would use and the other stuff. It was very risky because I don't know how it'll affect you. I took the risk, I-I'm desperate. I think, just enough of the potion would make you sleep and forget few days before. And it seems like it's working," he smiled as he finished.

Akane wanted to laugh, really, really hard. Ranma miscalculated the potion's dosage. She didn't know how but the potion didn't work as he knew it should. She fell asleep yes, but for few minutes only. She was all awake but couldn't move even her eyelids or lips. That might be the false effect. Not sleep-forget, but nap-paralyze. This favored her as she had the chance to hear him out; to trust him more and to fall more in love with her fiancé.

Akane startled as Ranma shifted his position. He was still supporting her head but she could feel that his face was just above hers as she felt his breath in her lips. Every muscle in her body was paralyzed but not her senses; that's why she could still react, well, her body reacted.

"I really wanted to kiss you that night," Ranma whispered. "I am really curious what it feels like. I'll kill them if they dare." He didn't add anything from that statement. Her fiancé just closed the gap between their lips.

Akane felt how gentle Ranma's lips unto hers. She could feel how he slowly learning to do it. He was moving his lips and tentatively sensing her. After few seconds, her fiancé let go of her mouth and slowly moved his face away from her. Akane wanted more but couldn't do anything but still, to wait. She waited for him to kiss her again or to say anything but nothing came.

"It wasn't that bad, not bad at all," he murmured. "Sorry 'kane if I suck at this kissing thing, Martial arts is the only thing I'm good at. I'm sorry that I disrespect you by doing this, taking advantage of you. This is the only thing I know," Ranma exasperated.

Akane wanted to protest. She didn't feel disrespected or disgraced at all. She understood what drove Ranma to do this, though it would be better if he said it in front of her, while she's conscious. She waited for him to kiss her again like he was meant to do it all his life. A little disappointed but she somehow felt contented. He risked it all, he didn't mind at all as long as he took her away from the booth and had her himself. She was startled as she felt Ranma moved again. She knew he was on top of her but not pinning his weight over her petite body. He was breathing and she could smell his minty breath and manly scent. He kissed her again but it was a quick kiss, a peck.

"I promise 'kane, I'll do this when you're awake, aware and responding," he said. Ranma trailed his finger in his fiancée's cheek, to her nose, to her lips then to her jaw line. He smiled then decided to lie again beside her, keeping her close to his body to warm them up.

Akane felt chill in her spine when he said when he'll do it next time, when she's awake, aware and responding. She couldn't tell if she would be excited or what, but she knew, she's looking forward to it.

"Ahhhh! You know, I was up all night waiting for the potion to take effect. So I waited for Ryoga to wake up after I forced it to him. Well, I took a nap after he left to go here in school. That bastard has tickets! Oh well, I have you here, the hell with them. I have the maiden ha ha ha!" Ranma happily said. He felt crazy but didn't mind. He's right. He had the maiden, the hell with their tickets.

'_So he didn't know that the booth's plan had been changed; that I am no longer the maiden,'_Akane thought_. 'So now I know why he had to kidnap me. He was still thinking that there's still a maiden and I am still the maiden,'_ as she smiled inwardly.

"I'll sleep for a while, 'kane. Hope I wake up first before you do. But definitely, I will be awaken once you're up because you gonna kick me. Oh well, so much for that. Let's sleep together, I'm very okay with it," Ranma mumbled as he felt sleep trying to knock him out. He shifted his body for comfort then instantly fell asleep with Akane in his arms.

'_How can I sleep in this position?'_Akane irritated asked herself. Her head was resting in his chest and his arm was securely wrapped around her shoulder. She could hear his heartbeat and breathing. His other hand was cupping her hand which was rested in his lean stomach. One of her leg was on top of his. In short, she was almost in prone position on top of him. _'Ranma…'_

Akane wanted to look at Ranma sleeping face but the effect of the potion was still affecting her whole body. She knew that her fiancé was already asleep as she heard him snort and his steady breathings.

Akane was surprised when she felt a little movement from her leg. It was a very little and discreet movement but enough for her to know that the potion was no longer paralyzing her body. She forced her eyes to open and was successful. The blue-haired girl adjusted her eyes from the brightness of the surrounding.

Akane waited for few minutes to confirm that she was no longer affected by the potion. In slow motion, Akane raised her head to face Ranma's. He was sleeping peacefully. He looked tired but contented. The scene made her smile and sighed. Her breath tickled his nose and crinkled a little. She stopped and waited for her fiancé to go back to his sleep. When he did, Akane slowly moved her face towards Ranma and closed the distance between their lips. It was a very innocent kiss but enough for her to be satisfied.

"I also promise baka. The next time I do it, you are awake, aware and responding," she whispered and smiled. "Thank you for kidnapping me and keeping me here."

Akane went back to her old position and closed her eyes to sleep. She also stayed up late last night because she was very nervous. She felt relieved when her sister, Nabiki, went to their booth that morning, before the ceremony started, to inform them that they had sponsors; two companies who would sponsor the orphanage. Moreover, their booth had a new gimmick, therefore, she no longer the maiden, no need to kiss and be kissed by anyone. It was funny to know that anyone who would insist to use the tickets to kiss her would be also facing a challenge with her fiancé, Ranma. How bizarre was that? To make it more bizarre, Ranma didn't know so he continued his ridiculous plan. It was the best bizarre thing, ever. So, Akane decided to continue the sleep then would act that she forgot everything like what should be the potion's effect. They didn't want to feel awkward with each other after this. The thing between them would remain only between them.

To be continued...

Thanks for reading!


	18. Chapter 18 Then What?

Yey! This is it! Thanks for those who read, reviewed, subscribed and loved my story. Here's the last chapter. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½.

Chapter 18 Then What?

Ranma opened his eyes and felt his shoulder numb and heavy. He wrinkled his nose when threads of hair blew in his face. The scent was familiar, very familiar. He looked down and saw blue-hair locks and it was breathing with cute snores. He was about to jump from his position when he remembered that it was Akane.

"What time is it? She's still as asleep," Ranma murmured and turned his head to look for anything that would give him any indication of the time. The sun's location showed that it was mid-afternoon, and his stomach said that it already passed lunch. Just feeling Akane in his arm, he's okay with it. He calculated again the time using Ryoga's reaction to the potion as reference. She should be awake by now but it seemed like she's in deep sleep and having a nice sleep because she had a smile and looked contented.

Ranma gently let go of his fiancée. He then decided to peek at the school ground to check the booths. His eyes reached their booth. No picture of Akane and it seemed that everyone was enjoying the festival. He saw Tatewaki Kuno having a word with their class president, Yuki, and Nabiki. The kendoist looked pissed but the two girls were just calmly calming him.

"What's with Kuno? When will he stop pestering us?" he hissed. Ranma wanted to pound the Kuno boy. "Shit! How did Ryoga reach the school in hours?" Now he had a problem as he saw Ryoga entered the school gate turning his head around while holding a map. He estimated that the lost boy would arrive in few days and missed the festival. But he underestimated Ryoga's luck and now he's inside the school. He hoped that his rival lost his way while inside the school.

Luck was not in his side when Ranma saw a student assisted Ryoga to the Kissing Booth, and then talked to their class president. All of sudden, after talking with the class president, Ryoga became excited and battle aura appeared around him and shouted, "Ranma! Prepare to die!"

"What the hell?"

Ranma decided to get away from the school. His fiancée was unconscious and should not be left unattended. Kuno might find her or Happosai or the other males and do something to her. He couldn't fight Ryoga now, for whatever reasons he had. He gathered his things then scooped his fiancée, bridal style and hopped. Ranma decided to change route because someone from their school might see them; he didn't need another chaos while Akane was in this state.

They silently reached the Tendo Dojo. Ranma decided not to use the front gate or the door; instead, he went directly to the roof, just above Akane's room. He left his bag at the roof before entering Akane's room using the window. He swiftly sent her to her room and carefully tucked her in her bed.

Ranma was about to leave the room when he looked back at Akane. He planned to go back at the school and kick Kuno and fight Ryoga. Would that worth leaving Akane? Why did he have to kick Kuno and fight Ryoga? What if during the time he's out fighting, something happen to her? Or maybe the Amazons were waiting for him to leave then attack her. The fight could wait. And he still had to attend Akane after she woke up. The pig-tailed realized that his fiancée should be up by now, then why was she still sleeping? His palms sweated when he remembered the 'don't forget' message of Mousse. Was it the 'bad' side effect? He had to talk to Mousse, but could he leave Akane? He's in dilemma.

Ranma decided to wait patiently for Akane to wake up. He took another nap while sitting in Akane's chair and resting his head in the desk. It was late afternoon when he woke up but she's still sleep. '_Damn you Mousse!'_ he thought while gritting his teeth. His head turned when he heard the door opened.

"Oh so you're here. I don't think that you had been here the whole time. Am I right?" Nabiki asked. Her future brother-in-law just looked at her and said nothing. "Nice plan," she continued. "By the look in your face, it looks like you didn't know that were changes."

"What changes are you talking about?"

"Don't be hostile, Saotome. I executed my plan, as you requested. We still have the deal, just so you know," the middle Tendo explained. "You're impatient, desperate and stupid. And don't interrupt me again!" she threatened when Ranma about to protest. "You approached me and had a deal. I had done my part. I gave your class two companies to sponsor the orphanage and provided a new gimmick to replace the maiden theme. The booth ran smoothly and everyone's happy, well, except Kuno-baby and Ryoga," she explained.

"What?"

"Are you deaf, stupid? The ticket holders used their tickets for the new gimmick, not to kiss Akane. For those who insist, must challenge you for a fight. You're lucky. Kuno-baby and that Ryoga boy accepted the challenge in return for the kiss. What's your plan?"

"I don't care. I can fight them; you know that, as long as they move their asses away from Akane."

"And for our deal?"

"It should be void since I had my own plan and didn't rely on yours."

"That is because you didn't trust me, idiot! You even bother to kidnap Akane. You should've let my plan do the rest and you could just relax, fantasize at Akane, and not insanely and desperately worrying her to kiss other guys."

"W-What?"

"Admit it, Saotome. You even risked asking the Amazons to give you a potion to knock out Akane. Instead of choosing the lesser evil, you chose the more evil and risked Akane, right? I can't believe you," Nabiki disgustedly said.

Ranma was taken aback. She underestimated again the mind power of Nabiki. And she was right; he risked Akane's life by relying on the Amazons. He was a selfish bastard, he had his own plan to avoid Nabiki's deal and let Akane suffer in the end. "H-How did you know?" he asked, trying to avoid the topic.

"Are you stupid? Everyone saw when you forced something on Akane's mouth, Ranko-chan. What else could that be? And who else here know more about drugs, potion and witchcrafts?" she paused and intently looked at her sister's fiancé. "What the hell did you put in her juice? And why is she still asleep?" Nabiki inquired.

Ranma was silent. He just turned his head back at his sleeping fiancée. She had been asleep for a while. He's worried but didn't want to panic especially in front of Nabiki. "It-It was just a sleeping potion. I might use too much, but I know s-she's fine," he forced to be calm and he had to be calm.

"What now, Saotome?" Nabiki demanded. She was leaning in the door frame and her usual crossed arms and raised brow were evident in her cold face.

"What do you mean?"

"What happen now to our deal? I did what you requested and it's still in your tab though you have your own plan. And of course, Akane; she's still sound asleep."

"We'll talk about the deal later, but it should still be void. And for Akane, I'll take care of it. I'll wait for an hour more, if she didn't wake up, I'll crash the Cat Café," he growled. He was pissed to the nth level. His worry became anger towards the Amazon especially Mousse for misleading him.

"I'll be looking forward to that," Nabiki stated then left the room.

Ranma sighed heavily then went back to the chair near Akane's bed. He thought deeply. "I'll give you another hour Akane, if you're still asleep after one hour, I will kill the Amazons after I got the antidote!" he threatened the sleeping Akane. He tiredly huffed and leaned back at the desk. He was calming himself because he might end up attacking the Amazons if he panicked.

Several minutes later, Akane stirred in her bed which made Ranma stood up. He was instantly beside her before she opened her eyes. "Akane?"

"Ranma? Where are we?"

"We're here in your room. I-I dropped you here when you fainted," he half-lied. "D-Do you feel something strange in your body or anything?"

The question woke Akane up. She remembered that she planned to make Ranma believed that the potion effectively affect her. She slept, check. She forgot the passed days' incidents, she would try. "I feel fine. I am okay. What happened? I mean, what's going on?"

"Uhm, you fainted, I bring you here and now you're awake," he stuttered. "You missed the festival; you slept for a while, sleepy head!"

"Really? Why are you here in my room?"

"I-I was worried. A-Are you still mad at me or something?"

"Why should I be mad at you?" she smiled inwardly. Her fiancé was a really bad liar. He stuttered and couldn't look at her eyes. "Did you do something that could make me mad?" she asked innocently.

"N-Nothing. Just rest more, okay. I'll just bring you your dinner. Tell me if something happen or if you feel something strange, okay?"

"Sure."

"I'll leave you for a while," he huffed and felt relieved. "I'll go change my clothes. I think Kasumi is starting to prepare the dinner."

"Okay. Why are you being nice to me? Did you do something to me that I don't know?" Akane faked the inquiry.

"N-Nothing! W-What do you think I would do to your brick body, tomboy?"

"How would I know baka? I was asleep and unconscious. You could do anything," she teased.

Ranma became crimson red from his face up to his neck. "Well, I won't! J-Just stay in your bed tomboy! Hmpf!" he then turned around to leave the room but halted when he heard his name from her mouth.

"Thank you. Thank you for everything you've done," she murmured and smiled at his back. She was also shaded red as she remembered what she was thanking for.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," as he waved his hand. _'Thank God the potion was effective. I should thank Mousse too!'_

Akane smiled when the door closed. She lightly touched her lips, the lips where Ranma placed his. The same lips she used into her fiancé's lips. _'He definitely wants to kiss me.'_

The End.

Whew! The last chapter. Thank you for reading and for the reviews or comments. I hope to see your names/username again on my next fanfics, to support, to suggest, and to share! Ciao!


	19. Chapter 19 Omakes

I created this last of the last chapter to clear some unfinished things in the story. I filed it as Omakes. Thanks!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½.

**Omake #1 The 'Don't Forget' Note**

(The next day after the Festival)

Ranma and Akane were walking home after they bought some ingredients that Kasumi needed. The pig-tailed boy was sensing the aura of the person he needed to see. It was weekend so there was less possibility that the Amazon would show up which they usually do. He wanted to talk to Mousse regarding the faded note he attached in the potion but he was reluctant to visit the Cat Café. Suddenly, the familiar bell rang.

"Airen!"

Ranma thought that Mousse would show up once he let the purple-haired girl hug him, so he let her. Unfortunately, Akane was with him.

"Ranmaaaaa!"

"It's not what you think Akane! Let me explain," he pleaded. They got along well when he delivered her dinner. She asked him to tell her what happen in the festival, of course, he didn't tell her about the kidnapping. "Akane! Come on!"

"I'll go ahead! Enjoy yourself, baka!" Akane said as she stomped her feet and marched towards their house. Unknown to Ranma, Akane knew that he was waiting for Mousse so she decided to let her fiancé speak with the duck-boy. She smiled as she walked away.

"Damn! Where's Mousse?" he inquired.

"Shampoo here Airen why you look for blind stupid Mousse?"

"Saotome, let go of my Shampoo!"

Ranma smiled and welcomed Mousse's attacks. He kicked the Amazon boy and followed where he landed. Shampoo was confused and just let Ranma beat Mousse.

Ranma grabbed Mousse's collar and then looked around. "Hey Mousse, wake up!" he slapped. The duck-boy opened his eyes. "Your notes got wet and I was not able to read the whole notes. What did it say?"

"You stupid Ranma!" Mousse retorted. "I neatly wrote and folded that note and you just let it wet?"

"I'm sorry! I tried the potion to Ryoga and you know how strong he is so I have to splash him to activate his curse, unfortunately the note also got wet," he explained.

"But you're still stupid! Anyways, the potion was not that harmful even you take the whole vial. It just that…" Mouse paused then wiped his eyeglasses.

"Just what…? Come on! Are you trying to kill me? Or to be killed? Spill it duck-boy!"

"You're an ingrate bastard! If you follow the dosage, you'll fell asleep and forgot some of your memories, some of it in no particular time. Too much of it will have the same effect. But, as the last reminder of the note, if you used less of it, it could also paralyze the taker for several hours."

"That's it? I mean no other bad side effects? You made a complicated potion. I just need sleeping potion with an extra power to forget. How could that happen? I thought I can rely on you!"

"That is because I don't have enough ingredients for the potion. I dot have much time and some ingredients of it don't exist here, only in our tribe and we ran out of stock of it so I replaced some herbs which are not harmful," Mousse explained. "Why are you being fuzzy about?"

"Nothing. I'm just making sure. It seems that Akane lost some of her memories, she slept and she's fine. If anything happen to her, I'll kill you and I will follow you even in your tribe if you ran away," Ranma threatened the Amazon boy.

"You're annoying and ingrate, Saotome. I love Shampoo that's why I helped you. Hmp! I should've let you used Cologne's potion."

"No way," he hissed. Ranma saw how the plant died in an instant. Imagining how it would kill Akane, it gave him chill in his bones. "But, thank you, Mousse," he said. "I was able to execute my plan and Akane's okay, we're okay. I'm very much okay with that," he stated while bowing his head to show gratitude to Mousse.

"As long as you stay away to my Shampoo, that's okay," Mousse blushingly said. He never heard someone thanked him like that as if he just saved someone's life.

"Gonna go now!" then Ranma left, running away from him.

That night, Ranma was having a hard time sleeping. He was haunted by Mousse's revelation that small amount of the potion could only paralyze the user. Did he use enough amount to Akane for her to sleep and forget? Or did he use too little for her to just be paralyzed but awake? Did she hear him confess? Did she know he kissed her and slept with her in the rooftop in that position? Ranma sighed and changed his position. He smiled. So what? Akane didn't seem to be angry or mad at him. If she was just paralyzed, she could've kicked him for being a pervert, but she didn't. Yeah, maybe he used 'enough' for her to sleep and forget.

**OMAKE #2: Endless Challenge**

(Festival Day, Late Afternoon)

Ryoga was walking in a forest holding a map. He was furious that he was not able to participate in Furinkan's Festival. He was glad that there was a nice student who fetched him and sent him to Akane's booth. He was disappointed that the class changed their plan. Akane was no longer a maiden. So his only chance to claim Akane's lips was no more. They said that he could still kiss the former maiden if he could face a challenge with her mighty fiancé, Ranma. He's very much okay with it. He was willing to fight Ranma. He was out all his life training to become the greatest martial artist. But they said that the couple was not there, so he waited. Nabiki whispered to him that his arch enemy was at the rooftop, waiting for him and his prize, Akane, was also waiting for him. Unfortunately, he was trapped in the forest and he didn't know how long he had been there.

Two children were playing in the park when they felt something was moving in the park's garden. They decided to approach and check.

"That might be a puppy that we need to help," said the little girl.

"Shhhhh! Be quiet. The puppy might run away," the other whispered.

"Damn you Ranma! I'll kill you once I get out of this forest!"

The two kids heard the shout and got scared. They went home running and trembling.

"Monster! There's a monster in the garden! Waaaah!"

"What was that?" Ryoga inquired as he looked around and tried to find were the yell came from. "I didn't know that there are inhabitants in this forest. Hmmm… Did I just hear them say 'monster'? I'm in Africa, how come I can understand their language?" he scratched his head. "Ahhh! I might be exhausted. I need to look for a place to camp. Oh! Akane-chan, once I got back in Nerima, I promise, I'll defeat Ranma and have your kiss," Ryoga murmured while blushing furiously.

Ryoga continued to walk while still looking at his map, around the bushy garden of Nerima Park.

**OMAKE #3: First Potion**

(After the incident in Omake #1)

"Shampoo have you heard anything about son-in-law?" Cologne asked her great granddaughter while counting their income. They were about to close the cafe and they were so busy the whole day.

"Hmm? I met Airen. He kicked Mousse. Shampoo didn't see him after," the Amazon teen replied. She was curious also what her Airen was up to.

Mousse was just listening while mopping the floor. He didn't want to join the Amazon women's talk; he might end up confessing about his own potion. The old lady had the power to extract the information while the younger lady could persuade him even by just looking at him.

"How about you Mousse? Have you seen the Saotome boy?"

Mousse decided not to look at the Amazon's face but he replied. "The same, when Shampoo saw them."

"Them? Are you talking about the Tendo girl? How is she?"

"Same. Large thigh, big waist, Airen hate Kitchen-destroyer face," Shampoo answered with disgust.

"She seems fine. Saotome and her are getting along well when we met them," Mousse replied as he continued to mop the floor.

"How does she look?" the old Amazon hadn't stopped asking. She decided to ask Mousse though he had this eyesight problem.

Mousse looked at Cologne first. He even adjusted his eyeglasses to look at her and read her expression. Well, the old mummy didn't seem to have her evil aura but she was curious to know Akane's look. "Same," he curtly replied then continued his work.

"She didn't have whiskers? Or fur? Or claws?"

"What?" Mousse curiously asked to repeat what he already understood. "I mean, she doesn't have any of those. She's the same-looking Akane Tendo." He paused. "Why?"

Mousse saw how the Amazon matron's eyes reacted in his question. He knew that it was something to do with the potion she created for Ranma. But why was Cologne asking if Akane had whiskers, fur, or claws?

"Yay! Shampoo remember now! Airen's potion!" Shampoo exclaimed making Mousse looked at her direction. She immediately slapped her mouth with her palm to cover but too late. Well, Mousse already knew about it but he wanted to know what's with their potion.

"Mousse, enough mopping here. Finish the dishes!" Cologne commanded, and then looked sharply at her granddaughter.

Mousse obediently went to the kitchen. He could feel how the old mummy followed him by her eyes. He let the two Amazon thought that he was clueless and stupid. But he was still curious about the exact potion they handed to the clueless Ranma.

Once the blind boy disappeared from the dining area, Cologne glared at her heir. "Did you follow my instruction properly?"

"Yes, grandmother."

"Then why is the Tendo girl still look normal? She should look like a feline in an instant," the old woman said.

Mousse gasped as he heard what Cologne said. It seemed that the potion was not as deadly as he and Ranma thought. But what the hell was she talking about Akane being a feline? He created few sounds to make him looked like he's working in the kitchen. It seemed that the two didn't bother to check on him.

"Shampoo followed instructions and used Amazon ingredients!" the teen Amazon protested.

"If you had followed it correctly, he should be running away from her. I pulled out that potion because we all know how scared son-in-law is to cats. We could have brought him home before the potion loses its effect. By the time the Tendo girl returned to her normal self, the Saotome boy already gave us strong heir for the tribe," Cologne stated. "If the Tendo girl still looks normal, your potion didn't work. Tch! As punishment for failing, you will not leave this café for a month and you will learn more on potion-making! I will entrust the delivery to Mousse," the old ghoul stated.

"No fair! Mousse is blind. Delivery will fail. The business will fail," Shampoo still tried to protest to her grandmother's decision.

"I don't care if the restaurant fails, as long as you, as my heir, succeed. Now, finish the tables and chairs. We're done for today!" Cologne finished then hopped using her staff.

Shampoo frowned and stomped her feet when her grandmother left. She didn't like the punishment. She couldn't leave the café for a month. This would give her Airen and the kitchen-destroyer more time with each other. She knew that she followed the instruction carefully and she measured every ingredient carefully because she wanted to their plan to be successful; to make Akane Tendo looked like a cat. This would make Ranma disgust and stay away from her.

Shampoo slumped in a chair and frowned deep. She felt defeated. Being an Amazon, she should not give up, she could not give up, so she decided to review the recipe of that potion.

Mousse carefully finished the dishes. He thought that he overestimated how evil Cologne was. He thought that her potion was an instant death for Akane, but it seemed that she just wanted Akane to stay away from Ranma or for Ranma to stay away from Akane. He sighed and shook his head. He smiled at the thought how everything turned out. Even his own potion turned out to be a little disaster because he lacked some of the ingredients. The exact effects were unknown to them but at least Ryoga was a good sample and nothing bad happened to Akane.

**OMAKE #4 The Deal**

(Night, after the Festival)

Akane sat in her bed after brushing her hair. She just got from the bathroom. After she woke up and Ranma left, she had a little time to think. She recalled everything, starting from their fight until he kissed her at the rooftop not knowing that she was 'semi-conscious.' She smiled again. It seemed that smile wouldn't leave her for a while. He even sent her dinner to her room and stayed until she finished. He just left when she decided to take a bath before hoping in bed again.

She looked around her room and it seemed that she was forgetting something. She got nervous. It might be the effect of the potion Ranma was talking about. She did fall asleep, though it was short, and now she was forgetting something. It was okay for her to forget some but she felt sad and scared if she would also forget how Ranma 'saved' her from being the maiden. She wanted to cherish how he desperately acted just to stay her away from the Kissing Booth.

The short-haired girl tried to look around again, she knew she was forgetting something and it was important. Akane knew she had thought of it while they were in the rooftop and also before her fiancé left her in her room. Her eyes landed on a picture displayed in her desk. It was the picture of her and her sisters. She had her famous smile, Kasumi's kind smile and Nabiki's smirk. Even in pictures, her sister showed her famous smirk and cold façade. Nabiki! She had to talk to Nabiki regarding Ranma's deal. She stood up and ran to the next room. She decided to 'save' Ranma from the deal. She would endure posing with costumes for Ranma. She would replace her fiancé. He saved her from the booth, so it's her time to save him. It would be embarrassing but it would be more embarrassing in Ranma's case knowing he's a strong martial artist but a sex-changing freak. She was also a best-seller 'model' so that would be enough for Nabiki to accept her deal.

Akane stopped in front of Nabiki's door. She closed her eyes then sighed heavily. She had decided this and would execute it. She raised her knuckles and softly knocked. "Nabiki?"

"Come in."

Akane nervously tuned the knob and saw Nabiki already sitting at the edge of her bed, arms crossed, legs crossed and brow raised. She looked like she had been waiting for a while with boredom written on her face. "Can we talk?"

"Speak," Nabiki commanded.

Akane sat on her legs and bowed her head. "Nabiki, let me replace Ranma," she started. "I-I mean, since you didn't want your deal with him to be void, and you gave our class sponsors and new gimmick just to remove form being a maiden, let me pay you by replacing Ranma," she nervously said.

Nabiki raised her brow. This was unusual. She had expected that either of the two would talk to her regarding the festival or the deal. So Akane came in but her proposal was different. She thought her sister would ask her to free Ranma from the deal, but to replace him? Interesting. As if the two decided not to be discreet anymore with their feelings. On the second thought, the two always acted selflessly just for each other. She had to change her plan.

Akane impatiently raised her head since she hadn't received any reply from her sister. She looked at Nabiki who was still wearing her cold face and the famous smirk. "May I?" she politely asked her older sister again.

"Why would I let you? What the hell got into your mind?"

Akane felt nervous again. It's Nabiki for God's sake, she'll squeeze every pieces of information she needed and wanted. "…t-to repay him, and also as payment for getting our class two sponsors. Y-You know what I mean."

"Tch! I'm not that evil to let my sister pose for me. And I am already got paid for your sponsors. I spoke to your class president. Don't ask me about the details because I won't tell you either. And could you please stand up?"

Akane reluctantly stood up and sat properly. "This doesn't change the fact that I decided to replace Ranma. You sell a lot of my pictures also so I am also p-profitable."

Nabiki huffed. "You're both annoying. Don't make me an evil sister. Just do what you always do, I'll take care of the pictures and shots. Get out of here. I have a lot of things to do."

"Huh?"

"Just leave. I got it."

"Thank you," Akane said while her head still bowed before leaving her sister's room.

Nabiki just shook her head. She didn't epect that her prideful sister, Akane, would be humbly asking her to do something unthinkable as for her character. Well, the mighty Ranma actually did the same thing few days ago when he asked her to make a plan. Unfortunately, he did his own plan without telling her. She went back to her ledger and calculator.

**OMAKE #5 The Deal 2**

(Night, after the Festival, after Omake #4)

KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Come in Saotome!" Nabiki said from her room.

The door opened and it showed an annoyed Ranma. "How come you know that it's me?"

"Instinct," Nabiki shortly replied. "I just feel like you're going to have a little chat with me regarding the deal we have. Is it right, Ranma-kun?" she teased.

"Uhm, yeah, about the deal…" Ranma curtly answered. "I am thinking, do I-I really have to, you know, cutely pose?" he stuttered.

Nabiki smirked. This was unexpected. It's very unusual for Ranma Saotome to accept defeat without a fight. She thought that he came to her room to negotiate and to appeal or anything that wouldn't ruin his pride. He's an egoistic bastard for crying out loud; but this was different. An annoyed but humble Ranma was in front of her, with downcast but determined eyes.

Ranma looked at Nabiki when he heard no reply. It's unusual for Nabiki Tendo not to retort in his very unmanly situation. He was showing his vulnerability and defeated side in front of this conniving business woman. But here she was, just smirking, or was that a real smile? He felt cold sweat in his palm. This was freaky; Nabiki's 'genuine' smile was freaking him out. It seemed like underneath their previous deal, there was another deal. "N-Now what?" he asked.

Nabiki frowned a bit then turned around. She started opening her ledger again and studied the notes. She slumped in her bed in prone position with her upper body slightly up and her head resting in her palm. She looked at Ranma again then gazed at the ledger. She sighed before looking at Ranma again with boredom distinctively showing in her face. She chuckled then turned the pages of the book then reached for the calculator and started to press the numbers.

Nabiki's action irritated Ranma. He was the most impatient person in the world and this was what he got for an answer. A boredom and glaring contest with her future sister-in-law made him to feel frustration again. "What the hell? Aren't you gonna say somethin'?"

"You know, you are a very rude dumbass," Nabiki calmly retorted as she continued to press the calculator.

"What?"

"You are rude and dumbass, asshole!" Nabiki replied. She got up and sat at the edge of her bed, crossed legs. They were in the staring contest again but Ranma bowed his head first. The middle Tendo smiled and reached for her ledger. She flipped few pages before putting it back in the bed. "Anyways, I have another deal-"

"What?" Ranma yelped. "I am offering to continue the previous deal and now you have another for me?"

"No," she immediately answered. "I have a deal with different person. Our deal is still valid, as you offered but it will just co-exist with my new deal."

"I don't get it. Will I still be posing c-cutely to your camera and s-sell it?" he asked disgustedly.

"That's the advantage of my new deal, you don't have to pose. As usual, I will be taking pictures of you and sell it, but it will be like a candid like usual. I just want you to act a little feminine and be aware of the camera once in a while. That's all."

"That's it? I mean no more cosplay? No more cute poses? Just be me?"

"I said the usual routine but be a little feminine. If it will be 'just you' I will incurred loss instead. That's all you have to do, do what you usually do, be a little feminine and it's better if you will be Ranko-chan more often. I'll take pictures and sell it. Now, leave!"

Ranma was dumbfounded. He hadn't digested yet what Nabiki's new deal with him. As if it was null but the conditions were he had to be a little feminine and be Ranko-chan more. That was it? "O-Okay" he just said then he left the room. It was not what he expected but it was better that being aware and doing the cosplay and posing cutely thing. He didn't like that, at all. The question was: what kind of deal did Nabiki have and with whom?

As the pig-tailed martial left her room, Nabiki went back to her bed and flipped the pages of her journal. She smiled as she remembered her deal few hours ago. Akane went to her room and talked to her regarding Ranma's deal with her. Her sister proposed another deal with her just to void the previous deal. Akane said she'll cooperate with the posing-picture taking and approved to sell it as long as the pictures were decent. Nabiki could feel how Akane wanted to save her fiancé for degrading himself because of that deal. She was not sure what made Akane do it but she knew how her sister cared for the Saotome boy. Though she exerted a little effort looking for sponsors, she knew that both teens cared too much for each other that they bothered to do anything for each other. Just the thought of how complicated their relationship was, it gave her migraine. She gave up but for sure, she gave them the hard time.

Really, The End.

Thanks!


End file.
